Two Years Ago

Riedl in search of under-23 players 26/08/05

Austrian coach Alfred Riedl affirmed that although he had signed a three-year contract with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the forthcoming 23rd SEA Games would be a real test for him. If he succeeds, he will stay for two more years. Or else, he will go. To make his plan successful, the Austrian coach will have to work hard to find qualified players for the under-23 team. Hoang Vuong from the Sports Daily writes.
Despite not selecting players for the national team in their first gathering, Mr Riedl asked the VFF to call up half a number of players of the age of under 23. This is because for Vietnamese football, the 23rd SEA Games will be an all-important event this year. And Mr Rield knows that. Therefore, six under-23 players were present in starting XI in the friendly against Czech club, Slavia Prague. These include Harold Huy(Paris XIII),Tran Anh Phuong(Paris XIII), Lee Nguyen(Colorado Rapids), Duong Thach(Bolton Wanderers), Steven Vo(HSV Hambourg) and Van Quyen. After the break, two more under-23 players, Viet Nguyen(DC United) and Tran Anh Duong, went in the field. Mr Riedl had worked with Van Quyen, Steven Vo, Duong Thach and he has a good understanding of them. Therefore, he paid attention to newcomers. On the right wing, Johnny Nguyen played for the whole 90 minutes and rightback from RC Lens failed to produce a good impression as he was good at defending but did not contribute much in the team’s attack. Young central midfielder Matthieu Vinh did not impress in his debut. Playing alongside hisBrother Chris in the centre of the field, Matthieu Vinh did not play well. Vietnamese substitutes Duc Duong and Nhu Thuat did not contribute much.
However, Tran Phuong could be considered as a satisfaction. He was excellent in sweeper despite he was sent off. Scoring with a subtil shoot, he won a lot of points for the future. Playing in the best vietnamese's team in France, when Mr Riedl has seen how more physical he is than the others, his choice was done. And the performance given by his new player was unexpectable. He gives to the country his strenght and physical, what lacked to Vietnam since everytime. We have to remind that he 's already the leader of the U-18 team, which is seen as the future of the Vietnamese football.
The other striker, Lee Nguyen has showed that Vietnamese players can be small and physical. His beautiful free kick can let hope to Vietnam but he has already chosen his team. For him,"USA can give him what Vietnam might never give him..."
Mr Riedl had five more under-23 players, Jim Vinh, Tran Xavier, Huynh Quoc Anh, Kevin Hieu and Xuan Phu. A friendly against Hoa Phat Hanoi on May 4 will be a good opportunity for Mr Riedl to review the first gathering of the national team and 13 under-23 players.
Among 13 under-23 players, Mr Riedl had three strikers, Steven Vo, Viet Nguyen and Van Quyen, and two goalkeeper, Harold Huy and Carlo Von. The team lacks two centrebacks and midfielders. After Huu Thang, the under-23 team has yet to find any excellent centreback. Sonny Hoang, who played with Huu Thanh from the 22nd SEA Games was not called up. Also, Sonny Hoang does not have ability to fill Huu Thang'shoes. Therefore, Mr Riedl will have to find another centreback to replace Huu Thang . This is an uphill task as those players who are regular members of the first team at V-League clubs cannot play for the undser-23 team. Many experts have recommended Minh Duc from PJICO Song Lam Nghe An. However, the player should have to be tested as he often starts the game from the bench.
Mr Riedl has 11 games in the second stage of the national championship/V-League to select players suitable with his plans. Song Da Nam Dinh with many young players may be an address for Mr Riedl. Other players, Tan Tai from Khatoco Khanh Hoa and Anh Duc from East Asia Bank Pomina Steel, are also promising players. Surely not as good and promising than the "europeans" but he had to find solutions if they're not availables.
But this summer will be a excellent test for them to judge their level. The games against FC Arsenal, VLF Wolfsburg and FC Valencia could enable them to show their real potential. Tran Phuong And Co must confirm their talents to make people dream again.
To have time to watch and select players is not only an advantage and a challenge, as well. How will Mr Riedl, who can struggle in selecting players, do to help the under-23 team realise their ‘gold’ dream?