VOICE OF SEMARANG – Shin Tae Yong’s strategy was adopted by Vietnam in preparing for the 2023 Asian Cup match. A total of 20 offspring players will be naturalized.
This is reflected in the coach of the Indonesian National Team who has brought many naturalized players to strengthen the Garuda squad at the 2023 Asian Cup.
Vietnam is secretly preparing its team for the 2023 Asian Cup without playing games. Facing Indonesia, which is in the same group, the glitter of naturalized players will overflow.
Vietnam believes that what Shin Tae Yong is doing with a number of quality naturalized players will allow his team to speak at the 2023 Asian Cup.
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Vietnam is in the same group as Indonesia at the 2023 Asian Cup in Group D which is also inhabited by Japan and Iraq.
The Vietnam Football Association (VFF) has prepared a list of 20 players of Vietnamese descent to be naturalized soon. The target is the 2023 Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup.
The war for naturalization players will occur in countries in Southeast Asia in the Asian Cup between Indonesia and Vietnam.
Vietnam coach Philippe Troussier said the call for players of Vietnamese descent was unavoidable.
“We have a lot to do to increase the strength of the (senior) National Team, U-23 and U-20. Training alone is not enough. Now, we have V.League 1, V.League 2. We have to prepare a more complete system, more serious, with 40-50 games per season,” said Philippe Troussier, reported by Zingnews.
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Philippe Troussier said that a competitive league is not enough. He stated that he needed Vietnamese diaspora players from around the world to be sent home.
Troussier also shared his experience while traveling to train many countries. Where the team he coached recruited a lot of descendant players to be naturalized.
“The second is Vietnam’s resources overseas. I have a lot of experience working in Africa. They are very accomplished. That’s not only thanks to domestic resources, but also from overseas Africans and descendants who have trained, played and made careers in Europe ,” he said.
Philippe Troussier said there were around 20 players of Vietnamese descent scattered in various countries who could be naturalized at any time.
“Vietnam doesn’t have too many players (offspring) in the identification I did. However, according to the scout list provided, there are about 20 names. They are in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Russia, to France,” he said.
For Vietnam, naturalizing players is nothing new. They’ve done it to Mac Hong Quan, Huynh Kesley Alves, Martin Lo, and Dang Van Lam.
Most recently, in the list of Vietnam U-23 players there is the name Andrej Nguyen alias Nguyen An Khanh. Sigma Olomouc’s players in the Czech Republic are lined up for the 2024 AFC U-23 Cup Qualifiers.
“My job is only to talk, discuss, with players, families and make a decision to be called up. From the An Khanh case, I hope there will be more individuals to add to the team’s resources. I also hope that this case will make it easier to increase Vietnam’s overseas resources in the future,” said Philippe Troussier.
In Indonesia, the program to naturalize players of Grade A descent is a priority for Erick Thohir and Shin Tae-yong before the 2023 Asian Cup is held.
There are 5-6 Indonesian diaspora players in a number of Europe’s top leagues who are targeted for immediate re-naturalization. ***
