Coach Kim Sang-sik’s problem
Coach Kim Sang-sik’s success with the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup 2024 comes from many factors: good collective management ability, appropriate tactics, effective motivation, and the presence of Nguyen Xuan Son. – The striker has raised the whole team’s level with his comprehensive playing style and “unparalleled” attacking skillset.
However, it is not a coincidence that in most developed football platforms in the world, the head coach of the national team and the youth team are two different people, with different teams.
Will coach Kim Sang-sik succeed with U.22 Vietnam?
Because coaching the national team is not the same as coaching the youth team. At the team level, the coach’s task is to manage the “egos” of the personality stars, taking advantage of all the best resources to bring about appropriate playing style and results. With established players who have clearly shaped their football thinking, the coach of the national team does not need to teach much. The orientation aspect will receive more attention.
In youth teams, the coach’s task is more about teaching tactical techniques, when most players have not yet formed a clear style. In many respects, these are… blank sheets of paper, so that the coaching staff can color ideas about football thinking. At the same time, coaching a youth team also requires closeness, perseverance and the ability to motivate extremely good morale from the “captain”. Because unlike adult players who listen and understand a lot, young players who are inexperienced need a teacher with enough strength and ability to guide them both in tactics and psychology of play.
For a long time, Vietnamese football has operated with the philosophy of using the same coach at both the national team and youth team levels. Having the same coach can create a close connection between people and playing style for both levels. However, it is not simple for a coach to “mill rice and carry children at the same time”, that is, effectively manage two teams that have many unique differences.
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Manage
Coach Park Hang-seo is a rare person who succeeds thanks to his mastery of collective management and leadership skills. However, at the 30th and 31st SEA Games that he conquered, the imprints of over-aged players such as Hung Dung, Hoang Duc, Trong Hoang or Tien Linh were all very bold. Over-age faces are like the “extended arms” of the head coach, helping to stabilize the spirit and playing spirit of young players.
U.22 Vietnam once stumbled at SEA Games 32 due to lack of experience
At the same time, the youth of Mr. Park’s time also had a very good technical foundation and football thinking thanks to the previous methodical accumulation process.
Coach Kim Sang-sik does not have this advantage. He will lead U.22 Vietnam to attend the SEA Games with a pure squad of under 23 years old. There are no more “extended arms” woven together for Mr. Kim to promote the collective. At the same time, the young generation in the hands of the Korean strategist is difficult to compare with the previous generation in terms of combat experience. Among the most potential young players born from 2003 onwards, only Trung Kien, Thai Son, Dinh Bac and Vi Hao have “rolled” a lot in the V-League. The number of experienced players is not enough to assemble a squad.
Coach Kim Sang-sik once admitted to the press: “Young Vietnamese players have very few opportunities to express themselves.” But, he cannot change this reality. Unlike the national team, coach Kim Sang-sik will manage with a much more modest player base and cannot “push” teams to let young talents play more. The Korean coach’s task is, in such an immature team, to boost the player’s spirit, create motivation and take advantage of the limited training time to build a playing style suitable to their learning ability. game. Mr. Kim cannot replace the club coach’s job, but can only build the “house” that best suits the existing foundation.
Coach Kim will motivate his students to improve themselves
In rare training sessions with U.22 Vietnam last year, coach Kim Sang-sik encouraged the players to “play football freely for fun and show everything they have”. That was the first step showing Mr. Kim’s gentle approach: creating a pleasant and optimistic atmosphere, motivating students to explore their own potential within the framework of disciplined play.
“Tapping a child’s head” has never been easy. However, this is an interesting test for Mr. Kim himself to explore new features in his coaching thinking!
