What can we learn from Nguyễn Filip's mistakes?

24/09/2025 09:27:00 SportScoop

CAHN’s coach Alexandre Polking recently shared his thoughts on the errors made by the Vietnamese-origin goalkeeper during the unfortunate draw at Beijing Guoan’s stadium (China) in AFC Champions League Two, while still regarding Nguyễn Filip as one of the top goalkeepers in Vietnamese football today. However, in truth, he has long ceased to be the number one.

However, this issue is not just about Nguyễn Filip but concerns Vietnamese-origin players in general... Although they start well abroad and benefit from more playing time due to their Vietnamese heritage, it is difficult to say that Vietnamese-origin players have superior quality compared to their local peers.

Up to now, although nearly 20 Vietnamese-origin players have been called up or have played for Vietnam’s national and U23 teams, their roles have not yet matched expectations.

Of course, this is a somewhat harsher perspective on Vietnamese-origin players. It arises from an urgent need to strengthen the national team in a context where naturalizing foreign-born players is difficult, rare, and sensitive. Vietnamese-origin players are considered the optimal solution to address the current trend of naturalization in Southeast Asian football. However...

Take the unfortunate 2-2 draw of CAHN at Beijing Guoan’s home as an example. Perhaps no match against a Chinese opponent has seen a Vietnamese representative dominate so completely. They controlled 60% of the ball, took 29 shots compared to the host’s 11, had 13 shots on target, and 2 shots hit the goalposts.

But the result was 2-2 instead of a memorable victory, with the main reason being mistakes made by the player considered the highest caliber in CAHN’s lineup, goalkeeper Nguyễn Filip. In other words, while the attack repeatedly failed to score, Nguyễn Filip could not be the reason for losing points since the pressure on his goal was not heavy.

Despite having European-level skills, goalkeeper Nguyễn Filip has recently made continuous mistakes. Photo: Hoàng Linh

The policy of opening doors for Vietnamese-origin players has been strongly promoted for the past five years, but even when domestic players are lacking, the number of Vietnamese-origin players on the national team has not increased significantly.

The most notable example is coach Kim Sang Sik’s trust in Nguyễn Đình Triệu for the four most important matches of the 2024 ASEAN Cup, and the winning lineup earlier this year was mostly domestic players, except for the special case of Nguyễn Xuân Son.

This is why the VFF is quite cautious when stating that our naturalization policy cannot be the same as countries like Indonesia or Malaysia. History shows many Vietnamese-origin players demonstrate ability initially but quickly lose their outstanding qualities after playing in the V-League for some time.

The case of Mạc Hồng Quân previously is an example. The expansion of foreign player slots has increased the pressure on Vietnamese-origin players to succeed. Consequently, opportunities to join the national team have gradually decreased, forcing football administrators to focus more on youth development rather than relying on "external forces."

Nguyễn Filip’s case reflects both the mistakes of a goalkeeper and the broader issue of Vietnamese-origin talents playing football in Vietnam. It may be due to difficulties integrating into domestic football or because we place high expectations on them.

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