When Vietnamese football forgets its wingers

On Tuesday morning, I stood at the auxiliary training pitch of the PVF Youth Academy, where the U19 team was preparing for the National U19 Championship. Dew still clung to the grass, and I saw a boy of about 17, wearing shirt number 11, receiving the ball on the right wing. Instead of accelerating along the touchline, he stopped, looked inside, then cut diagonally into the central channel. That movement repeated three times in ten minutes. I couldn't help but recall the days I followed Khanh Hoa FC in 2026, when Le Duy Thanh – number 17, 19 years old – made 214 passes in one training session but lost the ball only 12 times. Thanh played on the wing, but he never cut inside. He hugged the line, stretched the defense, and crossed. Now, I ask myself: where have those wingers gone? Vietnamese football is undergoing a quiet tactical revolution. Over the past five years, I have watched more than 200 matches in the V-League and youth tournaments, and I have noticed a clear trend: traditional wingers – those who hug the touchline, cross, and stretch space – have almost disappeared. Instead, coaches prefer players who can cut inside, use their stronger foot to shoot or combine in short passes. This is not wrong, but it is homogenizing the playing style of the entire league. Look at the numbers. According to statistics I collected from V-League matches in the 2026-2026 season, the average number of crosses per match has dropped from 24.3 (in 2026) to 15.7. Meanwhile, the number of dribbles cutting inside has increased from 8.2 to 14.5. Teams like Hanoi FC, Ho Chi Minh City FC, and even the national team under coach Kim Sang-sik all favor a short-passing, possession-based style in the central areas. But I wonder: are we losing a powerful weapon? I remember the 2026 AFF Cup final, when Doan Van Hau – a full-back – delivered crosses that were like placing the ball onto Nguyen Anh Duc's head. That was the decisive goal. But Hau is a defender, not a winger. As for true wingers like Pham Thanh Luong or Nguyen Van Quyet in their prime, they all had the ability to hug the line and cross. Now, young players are trained in the "inside forward" model from a very early age. I have witnessed at PVF, at the HAGL Academy, and at Viettel's youth setup, training drills all revolve around cutting inside and shooting with the stronger foot. No one teaches them how to cross with their weaker foot, how to hug the line and stretch the defense. This creates a consequence: Vietnamese teams become predictable. When every winger cuts inside, the opposing defense only needs to assign one marker and one supporting player in the central area. There is no surprise. I watched the match between Vietnam U23 and Thailand U23 at the 2026 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, where Thai players actively pushed high on both flanks, while Vietnamese players kept cutting inside and hitting the defensive wall. The result was 0-0, and I felt sorry for the wingers who no longer know how to fly. But I am not a nostalgic person. I understand that modern football demands flexibility. Players like Mohamed Salah or Bukayo Saka are excellent inside forwards, and they are highly effective. The problem is not using them, but that we have completely eliminated pure wingers. I call this "tactical homogenization" – a silent disease that kills the diversity of play. Look at Thailand. They still train wingers like Chanathip Songkrasin – who can play on both flanks but still retains crossing ability. Or Japan, where wingers are taught both skills: hugging the line and cutting inside. That diversity creates strength. As for us, we are confining ourselves to a single template. I remember a training session at PVF U19, when I asked the coach: "Why don't the players practice crossing?" He replied: "Crossing is an old style, not effective. Now we play possession." I did not argue, but I thought of goals from crosses – those dangerous headers, those cut-backs – they still have value. And when opponents defend in numbers, crossing is a way to create chances. Data from VangBong.vn shows that in the 2026-2026 season, goals from crosses accounted for 18% of total goals in the V-League, down from 27% in 2026. That means we are missing out on nearly 10% of scoring opportunities. And in important matches, when opponents play defensive counter-attacks, those crosses could be the key. I am not saying we should return to a long-ball, aimless crossing style. I am saying we need balance. A team needs both players who can cut inside and those who can hug the line. That diversity creates unpredictability. And when I see that boy number 11 at PVF constantly cutting inside, I wonder: will he ever be taught to cross with his left foot? Will he ever be shown how to stretch the defense? I have lived 62 years, 46 in this profession, and I have witnessed many tactical revolutions. But I have never seen a revolution that completely eliminates such an important position. Perhaps we are too enamored with what is modern, forgetting that football is a game of diversity. The truest heartbeat is not in the stands, but under the feet of early morning training sessions. And there, I see wingers having their wings clipped. I suggest that youth academies reconsider their curriculum. Teach players both skills: hugging the line and cutting inside. Let them freely explore their abilities. Do not force them into a single mold. Because when we have versatile players, we have more tactical options. And that will help Vietnamese football go further. I also want to tell coaches: do not be afraid to use traditional wingers. They still have value. They can make a difference in difficult matches. I remember the match between Vietnam and Malaysia at the 2026 AFF Cup, when Van Quyet came on as a substitute and created breakthroughs with his line-hugging and crossing. That is something inside forwards cannot do. We are in the transfer window, and I see many teams spending money on foreign players who can play as inside forwards. But I rarely see them recruiting pure wingers. Perhaps because they think that style is outdated. But I believe that in football, nothing is outdated if it brings effectiveness. And I have witnessed many European teams using wingers like Adama Traoré or Allan Saint-Maximin to make a difference. I am not a conservative person. I accept change. But I believe change must come with diversity. We should not completely eliminate a position, but develop it in a modern direction. Teach young players how to cross accurately, how to position themselves, how to stretch the defense. Those are skills that never go out of style. I will continue to follow training sessions, continue to observe those wingers. And I hope that one day, I will see a boy hug the line, accelerate, and cross like a mark of return. Because then, Vietnamese football will have another weapon, and I will clap from afar to remind that the heartbeat does not need distance. Transfers can change the squad, but they cannot change the identity brought from the training ground. And the identity of Vietnamese football, in my view, is skill, flexibility, and diversity. Let us keep that.