Covid-19 break is a turning point for Park and Vietnam NT?

The Covid-19 epidemic is devastating world football, causing most football matches in every country to be postponed, every plan is turned upside down, the players have to train themselves at home. This, however, does not seem to affect Park’s attitude and opinion.

Seeking Changes

Park Hang-seo and coaching staff Lee Young Jin, Kim Han Yoon, Park Sung Gyun and assistant Luu Danh Minh are still working hard during the pandemic. They both reviewed all the videos related to the players in the past and discussed professional issues.

More importantly, Park is looking for a new tactics which can make the most of the abundant midfield and the quality of Vietnamese football.

The surprising success in the past two years can make all fans in this country reel in victory, so does Park. He has not enough time to get rid of the past victory.

The main evidence is his conservative attempts, notably believing in the three- defender tactic. The continuous tournaments gave him not enough time to look deeply into every problem. Not to mention the invisible pressures from many sides that made him unable to give up the reality to look for his new change.

Only when all football activities delayed, Mr. Park has a lot of time to scrutinize. This is the key moment for the Korean coach to create a breakthrough surprise for the Vietnamese team, especially after the painful defeat in U23 tournament recently.

Turn challenges into opportunities 

The first and most important change is reflected in Mr. Park's sharing. It is new roster and operating system. It is likely that the squad will gradually switch to 4- defender formation. This may reduce the defensive ability (the strongest point of the team under Mr. Park) but will help the team's play become more active. His players can control the game on their own instead of depending on the opponent.

Changing gameplay will help new faces have more opportunities. In fact, Vietnamese football has a lot of talent that has not been used, especially in midfield. Many good players such as Nghiem Xuan Tu, Mac Hong Quan and Tran Phi Son are still waiting to be devoted to the national team.

To prepare for the change, Vietnam NT will be supported by VFF on the schedule and call-up plans. Although the Covid-19 epidemic has affected the activities of the national league, the VFF leadership has affirmed that they will create the most favorable conditions for the national team. It is expected that if the epidemic is under control, Park will start training with his players as early as June, along with friendly matches with quality teams in the region.

If they make good use of the above plans, the Vietnamese team will have a favorable momentum in this season. Most of Vietnam's competitors in the World Cup qualifiers are facing difficulties when the epidemic in these countries has not been controlled.

Coach Shin Tae Yong also had to return home and worried when his close assistant was infected with corona virus. The UAE even has no coach after suddenly dismissing coach Jovanovic.

The most formidable opponent of Vietnam is Malaysia. The current postponment will give them more time to complete the addition of naturalized foreign soldiers. However, no matter how much improvement, the H2H shows that this is a "favorite" opponent of the Vietnamese team.

Therefore, with the careful preparation of Park Hang-seo, the break time can be a rare opportunity for Korean coaches to make their next historic turning point with the Vietnam team.