Brian Jeffrey
Coach’s Vision for Vietnamese Football
Coach Kim Sang Sik is focused on advancing the Vietnam national team’s success following their recent ASEAN Cup win. He believes that rather than relying solely on naturalized players, enhancing the domestic V-League is crucial for boosting the team’s competitiveness in regional tournaments.
Promising Talent: Xuan Son
Recently, Xuan Son’s outstanding performance in the Vietnamese team has made a positive impression on fans.
His remarkable abilities and ability to blend into the team’s dynamics have raised expectations for future naturalized players, similar to him, to help Vietnam thrive in Asia.
This hope for excellence is particularly strong, as fans appreciate Xuan Son’s deep commitment to representing the national team with pride.
Insights on V-League Performance
During a recent press conference, Nguyen Minh Ngoc, the CEO of Vietnam Professional Football (VPF), discussed the current state of the V-League and its lower divisions.
A notable discovery was that the average active playing time in V-League matches is merely about 50 minutes, translating to just over the half of a typical football game. Despite the implementation of measures from both VPF and VFF, this figure has only seen a slight improvement to around 55–60 minutes, not including stoppage time.
This subpar active playtime exists even with the introduction of VAR, which tends to extend the duration of matches beyond 100 minutes. Unfortunately, habits like “time-wasting” are still prevalent in the V-League, negatively affecting the league’s overall quality and competitiveness.
Aiming Higher Post-ASEAN Cup
After Vietnam’s success in the ASEAN Cup, Kim Sang Sik is eager for the team to reach new heights beyond such regional achievements.
While he recognizes the advantages that high-quality naturalized players, like Xuân Son, can bring, his aspirations extend towards creating a more vibrant domestic league.
Kim envisions a V-League and First Division characterized by thrilling matches that are devoid of the dullness and time-wasting seen in prior seasons.
To realize this vision, cooperation among clubs and players is essential to eradicate these detrimental practices, dedicated to delivering more exciting football.
With VPF and VFF’s efforts to elevate league standards, a strong domestic framework would lessen Vietnam’s dependence on naturalized players, establishing a solid foundation for the national team’s future.
Kim Sang Sik’s clear message: a flourishing domestic league is fundamental for the enduring success of Vietnamese football on an international scale.
