Coach Kim Sang Sik: Managing people like using wood

Just around 17 Vietnam national team players have been utilized since the beginning of the competition, yet rivals will not know whom Coach Kim Sang Sik will employ or in what manner in the upcoming match. Crucially, the following match tends to be superior to the former, at least regarding performance and outcome.

After a goalless draw with Singapore in the second group stage match at home, Coach Kim Sang Sik's team traveled to the archipelago of Indonesia amidst much skepticism. However, a new personnel framework was implemented, and the Vietnamese team secured a convincing 3-0 victory, guaranteeing a semi-final spot before the final group match against Cambodia at My Dinh.

In Indonesia, Xuan Son and Hoang Hen were kept on the bench, along with captain Quang Hai. That means, in theory, Coach Kim Sang Sik did not use the three most dangerous players from the start. Then Thanh Long, Hai Long, and Van Vi became the best performers of that match. It was a novel approach to personnel management, and from then on, we saw more of the team's potential.

Returning home to face only Cambodia was simple. A lineup of local, homegrown players easily overcame the neighboring team with a 3-1 score, in which Dinh Bac scored a brace, thus regaining confidence and inspiration in playing.

The freshness continued in the first leg of the semi-final against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, where Xuan Son returned to the starting lineup. The 3-4-3 formation was full of attacking ideas when in possession, and also had enough defensive options when needed to switch to 5-4-1, with the mobility of Tai Loc and Dinh Bac, along with the ball-winning and pressing skills, and long-range defensive participation of Xuan Son...

However, the effectiveness of Coach Kim Sang Sik's calculations in this match only met half of expectations. The safety factor on the home side was ensured, but imposing dominance over the opponent was not. The only difference came from a transition situation at the end of the first half, with a long pass from Thanh Long to Tien Anh, and Xuan Son's diving header for a goal.

Analysis and professional statistics show that speed and accuracy in transitions are decisive, not a rigid tactic or a textbook style of play. In this, the final destinations, the concept we often call "target players" with the task of finishing attacks and scoring goals, are the difference.

Indeed, for a football background still considered modest in the lowland region of Southeast Asia, it's hard to demand much in terms of complex modern tactics at the highest level. Playing beautifully but losing is not acceptable, but even the desire for an attractive style of play is almost impossible.

Football involves many calculations aimed at efficiency. In the five years under Coach Park Hang Seo and the recent two years under Coach Kim Sang Sik, the difference has been the maximum efficiency in each chess game or Rubik's Cube being turned.

The ultimate goal is still to win the whole war. Therefore, it's better to be slow and steady than to take risks to please anyone. The second leg of the semi-final against Malaysia tonight (August 19) carries that meaning, after such a clear advantage in the first leg.

We have already arranged to meet in the finals. So let's just leisurely enjoy this second leg of the semi-final against Malaysia, boys of Coach Kim!