Personnel for the Vietnam national team: Adapting to myriad changes with constancy

The sole ultimate strategy and goal of Vietnamese football is to successfully defend the ASEAN Cup 2026 championship. That is called the "constant". How to achieve the goal amidst the "myriad changes" of the times is another matter.

It can be said that coach Kim Sang Sik and his players have completed half of this year's tournament, convincingly topping Group A and securing a spot in the ASEAN Cup 2026 semi-finals. However, unnecessary debates about personnel usage have emerged again, going against the interests of the team that is currently outside the match arena.

Initially, it was about Đình Bắc through the two matches against Singapore and Indonesia. Bắc then promptly shone in the 3-1 win over Cambodia with a brace, regaining the trust of coach Kim Sang Sik and the fans. But at the same time, the issue of whether and how to use captain Quang Hải has resurfaced.

Recall that before returning to the national team for the ASEAN Cup 2026 campaign, Quang Hải was the captain of CAHN, winning the V-League and being voted the Best Player of the 2025/26 season. CAHN Club cannot be said to have not sacrificed for national interests with Quang Hải, Thành Long, Văn Hậu, Đình Bắc..., especially when they still have the upcoming AFC Champions League Elite preliminary round campaign.

The playing class of the small midfielder Nguyễn Quang Hải has been proven over more than 10 years at all levels of the national team and various tournaments. The same goes for the names just mentioned. However, Quang Hải is still doubted about his ability at age 29, the prime of a professional football career. The case of captain Quang Hải reminds us of another national team captain, Nguyễn Minh Phương, at the 2008 AFF Cup (predecessor of ASEAN Cup). That year, Phương was around the same age as Hải now, and was the conductor of Long An and the national team, but was unexpectedly benched by coach Calisto from the semi-finals to make way for Minh Châu of Hải Phòng.

In the 2008 campaign, the quartet Minh Phương-Tấn Tài-Tài Em-Vũ Phong was the optimal framework of the 4-man midfield, with Việt Thắng and Công Vinh playing ahead. The young midfielder Phạm Thành Lương was occasionally brought in depending on the time and specific opponent, but as mentioned, from the semi-finals onwards, Minh Châu was the mainstay.

Why Minh Châu and not Minh Phương, or even Trường Giang (captain of B.Bình Dương, the V-League champions at that time)? Clearly, against opponents with a fighting and physical style like Singapore and Thailand, Châu was more necessary than Minh Phương in the midfield (playing alongside Tài Em). Everything was within the coaching staff's calculations, and importantly, we succeeded.

In the matches against Singapore and Thailand, Minh Châu, along with Tấn Tài, Tài Em, and even Việt Thắng, played like kamikaze soldiers. Especially in the away matches, from Singapore's Kallang Roar to Thailand's Rajamangala.

In terms of skill set, Minh Châu at his peak is similar to Lê Phạm Thành Long now. And the fact that Thành Long is trusted to partner with Hoàng Đức, replacing Quang Hải in some matches, is also reasonable.

Just like Minh Châu replaced his senior Minh Phương and played effectively with Tài Em and the surrounding satellites. Then Phước Tứ replacing Minh Đức and Việt Cường taking Quang Cường's spot in the defense line were also calculated.

Nearly 20 years ago, coach Calisto waited until the final minutes of the second half of the second leg final against Thailand (when the score was 0-1 at Mỹ Đình Stadium) to use captain Nguyễn Minh Phương. The rest is history, with the decisive pass that allowed Công Vinh to score a goal more precious than gold, bringing Vietnam its first ever championship.

A segment of the public and fans still have a habit that should not exist: commenting on the national team's personnel matters, while how and when to use players in matches is the right of the coaching staff. Ultimately, in all success or failure, it is the coaching staff and players who are responsible, not any of us.

So rejoice! The battles are still ahead of us!