Midfielder Bùi Tiến Dụng- The anchor that helps the U19 Vietnam team stay on at the tournament

Though Bùi Tiến Dụng does not stand out as much as Trọng Đại, Quang Hải and Đức Chinh, he is considered a treasure by Coach Hòang Anh Tuấn for his silent contributions to the U19 Vietnam’s feat.

The U19 national team currently has up to five Centre Midfielders, namely Thái Quý, Việt Hùng, Anh Tỵ, Hoàng Nam and Tiến Dũng. However, Tiến Dụng has always been employed the most thanks to his good physique, robust physical strength and versatility. At the tournament, Tiến Dụng returned to his hallmark position as a Defensive Midfielder.

During the match with the Iraq U19 team, which ended in a draw, many thought the PVF 1998-born forward was likely to play as a center back in place of Trọng Đại who had got a red card. However, Coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn surprised everyone by still letting Dung play as a center Midfielder to make the most of his capacity. In all of the three qualifier matches, Tiến Dụng proved to be one of the tournament’s best Centre Midfielders.

In both setups of 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1 which the Vietnam U19 deployed, Tiến Dụng’s role as a holding midfielder was vital, and the young man really gratified the coaching panel with his speedy growth after each match.

During the matches against North Korea and UAE, Tiến Dụng intimidated his heavy-built opponents with his bold performance. He not only made precise tackles, but the rate of his successful passes was also staggeringly high, at 92.4%!

Tiến Dụng (center) is currently the Vientnam U19 team’s crucial center midfielder. Photo: Huu Ke.

Prior to the final match against Iraq, Coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn made some changes to his methods by setting up the Vietnam U19 players in the formation of 4-1-4-1. Prior to the H-hour, he emphasized Tiến Dụng’s “anchor” role, asserting “the number-6 will be the most exhausted player in today’s match.” Not letting his coach down, Tiến Dụng played one of his career’s best matches to help the Vietnam U19 team make history.

If Tiến Dụng is to be scored, he would certainly hold the highest score.s Let’s have our fingers crossed that he will deliver an exceptional performance to help the Vietnam U19 team overcome their ultimate challenge of playing versus the Bahrain U19.