The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said it would convene a meeting next month with coaches and analysts to learn why Vietnam - the defending champion - was eliminated from the ongoing Suzuki Cup 2010.
It will be a chance to find out truths and draw out lessons after the Vietnamese national football team were eliminated at the semifinals, VFF’s chairman Nguyen Trong Hy told Tuoi Tre.
Domestic coaches Duong Ngoc Hung and Mai Duc Chung agreed with the idea.
“I think we should leave constructive comments rather than harsh criticism because the result is unchangeable,” Hung said. “From my point of view, Vietnam’s failure can be attributed to injuries and form.”
“We actually did not have really sharp and strong men to convert chance into goals.
“Coach Henrique Calisto had to use only one man playing as forward (Anh Duc) together with two others as wing-attacking midfielders as per our team’s offensive tactics.
“The formation brought triumph to Vietnam two years ago but this time our opponents are accustomed to it and have found effective ways to weaken it.”
Failure can be also attributed to the fact that Vietnam underestimated the true strength of their opponents’ counter-attack tactics, as evidenced in the 2-0 loss to the Philippines and the 2-0 defeat by Malaysia in the first-leg semifinal clash.
Coach Chung proposed players of the national team should train with their clubs instead of camping for three months in advance.
Chung also advised splitting long training periods into smaller time scales to help players have more time for families.
The other thing is Vietnam’s wrong strategy.
In the first-leg semis in Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam should have played defensively to gain at least one point and would later push for victory in the second leg, according to the coach.
“I do not mean totally defensive tactics, but obviously it is the only way our team should have performed since we did not have two skillful wing defenders Quang Thanh and Viet Cuong.
“Wing attacks became weaker and more monotonous as two wings-attacking midfielders got tired and did not receive necessary supports from two wing defenders.”
Coach Chung confirmed he would address the upcoming meeting about Vietnam’s line-up. Viet Thang, who has yet to completely recover from injury, was in the starting line-up while a healthy Quang Hai was on the bench.
