‘Echo’ of U-19 Vietnam

The Vietnam men’s national football team made an extremely impressive start at the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup before seizing up in the semifinals with an incredible home-field 2-4 loss to Malaysia. No signs of match-fixing were detected, but local fans’ trust in national football, which had just been revived, was once again dimmed to the lowest level.

It was not merely trust in the team or a generation of players, but a trust in the future of the badly-hurt national football. However, there remains a spotlight in that gloomy picture coming from youth football, which is considered to be a ‘fresh wind’ blowing onto the ‘dry field’ of national football following many negatives, both inside and outside the field, creating a new vitality for Vietnamese football.

In just under two years, the Vietnam U-19 football team (U-19 Vietnam) made a lot of good impressions, drawing in professionals, the media and the public across the country.

The ‘echo’ of U-19 Vietnam is not natural itself but stems from the efforts of youth football training institutions, including Hoang Anh Gia Lai–Arsenal JMG Academy, in maintaining youth competitions as well as their bold investment in youth football, thereby creating a turning point for the country’s youth football training movement.

Many young promising talents have been discovered such as Quang Hai, Van Long, Tuan Tai, Cong Phuong, Tuan Anh and Xuan Truong, who have joined together to make up the ‘shining torch’ known as U-19 Vietnam.

This generation of players has been emerging as the golden hope of national football, impressing with their eye-catching playing style, fair play competitive spirit and honest sportsmanship. For many people, U-19 players are even considered Vietnam’s cultural ambassadors.

The festive atmosphere embraced across the country on the days of U-19 Vietnam matches is rarely seen in other countries in the region or throughout the world. It is also a strong momentum driving Vietnam into 2015 with high optimism.

Ready for ‘battle’

With their success over the past year, Vietnamese football’s ‘green sprouts’ will be given more responsibility at larger tournaments in 2015, including the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers (March, 2015), the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games (June, 2015), and even the 2018 World Cup qualifying round.

The rejuvenation plan is not only being conducted at the national level but also at the V-League club level, with Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Song Lam Nghe An and SHB Da Nang having a very young average age.

This satisfies home fans’ aspiration and is also an encouraging sign, enabling young players to accumulate experience at more important international competitions and creating a premise to build a long-term stable framework for the national team.

Moreover, the selection of the U-19 generation is also considered a last-ditch effort of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) as the trust of local football lovers in national football is diminishing following the national team’s failure at the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup.

U-19 Vietnam has created a 'fever' in domestic football during the past year.

A risky move

VFF leaders and national team coach Toshiya Miura are not seriously considering immediate achievements, but are rather focusing on building a stable team ready to compete in a few years. However, the accumulation of experience should be carried out step by step at different levels.

A sudden large change can possibly drive the players to increasing pressure and prevent them from performing to the best of their abilities.

Expectation on young players is so enormous and terrible — it is quite possible that they will not be able to satisfy all.

This has happened in many countries around the world. Take England for instance: early praise and use of young players prevented ‘football prodigies’ from this country from meeting expectations and their inherent potential.

Eventually, some of them, even at 35, still could not escape from the ‘prodigy’ label due to lack of bravery and experience in overcoming the pressure.

Regarding famous football clubs in the world, young talents have to experience sequential tests before being called to the first-division team.

After the promotion, they are played on the field with moderate frequency and are always accompanied and mentored by more experienced players.

These lessons are valuable sources of references for Vietnamese football to consider before using the generation of young players who are well trained and are shouldering huge expectations for the transformation of national football in the future.

Coach Toshiya Miura’s personality has been partially revealed through the rejuvenation plan and the surprising lineup of the national team at the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup.

A series of young players were discovered and effectively utilised by the Japanese tactician during the competition, with Mac Hong Quan, Que Ngoc Hai, Hoang Thinh, Huy Hung and Huy Toan having affirmed their positions on the national team.

This group of players born in 1992-1993 are eligible for the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, and it would be a huge waste if they were excluded from the games. So, a team of ‘two in one’ will possibly be formed with the combination between the under-22 players having excelled at the 2014 Asian Games and AFF Suzuki Cup (including Hong Quan, Ngoc Hai, Huy Toan, Hoang Thinh and Huy Hung) and the generation of talented U-19 players (such as Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh and Van Toan).

The VFF and home fans need to maintain trust in Toshiya Miura’s tactics and give young players more time to integrate and cultivate their bravery, in order to enable this new national team to boast their strength.

Specific long-term strategies from local football makers are also necessary instead of giving hasty statements or comments stemming from fragile expertise. Risky as this move may be, it also marks a dramatic change in orientating the development of Vietnamese football.

Belief is a decisive factor in every success we achieve in life. Believe you can and you are half way there. Home fans trust and look forward to seeing a new ‘look’ for national football in the future, with a generation of young, talented and enthusiastic players.