Master Kim's Ultimate Weapon Speaks Out
Ahead of the final, U.23 Vietnam is turning aerial balls into an art form at the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian Championship, with 6 out of 7 goals scored from aerial attacks. Coach Kim Sang-sik has both elements to create aerial weapons, which are sharp crossers and free kicks, along with players with ideal height to open up opportunities.
U.23 Vietnam (left) defeated the host team U.23 Indonesia with a score of 1-0 in the final match - Photo: DONG NGUYEN KHANG
In the final match against U.23 Indonesia, coach Kim Sang-sik built a strategy to optimize long balls. U.23 Vietnam retreated deep to defend with a two-layer defense, combining 5 defenders spread across the field with 4 midfielders ready to cover, block and surround to neutralize the pressure of U.23 Indonesia. In the first half, Mr. Kim only placed Dinh Bac in the front line to receive high balls.
The U.23 Vietnam's viewpoint is to prioritize defense and safe passing, being able to kick long and high to limit risks, while making the most of set pieces. Mr. Kim even arranged for Dinh Bac to... throw the ball long, recreating the opponent's strong weapon, as long as it creates a high ball into the U.23 Indonesia goal.
However, the key to creating the lethality of U.23 Vietnam's high balls lies in the personnel arrangement, the arrangement of near post, far post and diverse second line moves that the coaching staff has carefully arranged. The perseverance of Mr. Kim's students was exchanged for Cong Phuong's opening goal in the 37th minute, with a standard coordination situation. Dinh Bac kicked a corner kick for Ly Duc to move and head the far post. After Van Khang jumped up to compete, the ball bounced right to Cong Phuong's level, swooping in with an extremely accurate leg extension, opening the score of the match.
With 7 goals from high balls after only 4 matches, Coach Kim Sang-sik has created a "special" attack for U.23 Vietnam. With limited training time, the Korean coach did not try to build a short, smooth and sophisticated playing style, but prioritized pragmatism and directness to minimize risks and maximize efficiency.
TENSIONAL MATCH
Cong Phuong's goal was like "engine oil" to make U.23 Vietnam's counter-attacking machine smoother in the second half. While U.23 Indonesia had to push up to create pressure and was somewhat impatient, U.23 Vietnam retreated deep to defend thoroughly, combining fierce pressing in the midfield to prevent U.23 Indonesia from playing short balls.
VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan awarded the best player award to Dinh Bac.
Coach Kim Sang-sik arranged for the Vietnamese midfielders to maintain a reasonable and disciplined distance, causing the U.23 Indonesia midfield to be almost completely divided. Coach Gerald Vanenburg's students had to push the ball out to the sidelines to find opportunities, but the acceleration of Jens Raven or Muhammad Ferrari was not sharp enough to overcome the marking ability of Anh Quan or Phi Hoang.
Unlike the group stage or semi-final matches, when challenged to a high level, the U.23 Vietnam defense showed their quality. Ly Duc, Nhat Minh and Hieu Minh all fought bravely and safely both in the air and on the ground, creating a "wall" that prevented U.23 Indonesia from having any chances. And when the U.23 Vietnam defense was overcome, it was goalkeeper Trung Kien's turn to become a solid shield. Two situations of running up to block with his feet, along with many solid high ball catches, helped Trung Kien completely neutralize U.23 Indonesia's crosses and throw-ins.
U.23 Vietnam even organized sharp counterattacks. Every time they won the ball, Mr. Kim's students only needed 1 to 2 passes to push the ball up the line for the strikers to handle individually. By putting direct pressure on the Indonesian defenders, U.23 Vietnam prevented the opponent from pushing up their formation to create pressure. Facing an increasingly "hot" opponent, U.23 Vietnam kept a "cool" head, sober enough to stand firm at Gelora Bung Karno.
Maintaining a 1-goal lead, U.23 Vietnam retained the Southeast Asian U.23 title. The third championship in 3 years of U.23 Vietnam shows that in the Southeast Asian youth football field, Vietnam is still the leading force. However, more importantly than the achievements, coach Kim Sang-sik has probably seen the potential of precious gems such as Trung Kien, Ly Duc, Hieu Minh, Cong Phuong, Dinh Bac and Phi Hoang. The Vietnamese team is in dire need of the next generation to create a transition and find new momentum. The U.23 Vietnam generation has long had the ability but lacked the opportunity to compete, and the championship in Indonesia will be a stepping stone for young talents to have a boost in their careers.
With the third consecutive Southeast Asian championship, the U.23 Vietnam team received a bonus of 1 billion VND from the Vietnam Football Federation. Previously, the U.23 Vietnam team was awarded 500 million VND for passing the group stage and 500 million VND after winning the semi-finals.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-lan-thu-3-lien-tiep-vo-dich-dong-nam-a-18525073000035285.htm
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