AFF Cup 2018: Looking at Tien Linh reminds me of Tuan Tai!

About 3 years ago, when mentioning SLNA's Ho Tuan Tai, everyone knew. At that time, the player born in 1995 was evaluated by experts as a potential striker of Vietnamese football. Every time U19 Vietnam participated in a regional tournament (2014 Southeast Asian U19 Finals) or continental tournament (2014 Asian U19 Finals), coach Graechen always called up Ho Tuan Tai to the national team. Not only that, the French coach also often used the Nghe An player in the starting lineup of U19 Vietnam.

Objectively speaking, what Ho Tuan Tai has done in the U19 Vietnam shirt has not disappointed coach Graechen, experts and fans, with 5 goals scored at the Hassanal Bolkiah 2014 tournament. With a strong physical foundation, skillful individual techniques, plus an intelligent and enthusiastic playing style, Ho Tuan Tai possesses almost all the necessary elements and skills of a striker. "Van Quyen's cousin" is the bright face to inherit the number 9 shirt of Le Cong Vinh at the national team level.

Ho Tuan Tai (17) in the U19 Vietnam jersey. Photo: Internet

Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly for Ho Tuan Tai. In addition to frequent injuries, the player from Hung Nguyen (Nghe An) also rarely played in the V.League for SLNA, because he could not compete for a position with foreign strikers.

Evidence shows that in the last 3 V.League seasons (2016, 2017 and 2018), Ho Tuan Tai played 17, 8 and 18 matches respectively (nearly half of which were from the bench).

But perhaps the reason why Ho Tuan Tai “lost himself” was the missed opportunity in the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Indonesia at the 29th SEA Games. In the first minute of extra time of the match, Ho Tuan Tai received the ball in a very favorable position when only the goalkeeper of the opposing team was in front of him. However, Ho Tuan Tai's shot could not beat the goalkeeper of U22 Indonesia.

This draw was one of the reasons why coach Nguyen Huu Thang and his team were eliminated right in the group stage of SEA Games 29 (losing 0-3 to U22 Thailand in the last match).

Ho Tuan Tai regrets missing a scoring opportunity. Photo: Internet

More than a year has passed since the 29th SEA Games, Ho Tuan Tai has not appeared in the call-ups of U23 Vietnam and the Vietnam National Team. The dream of participating in the most prestigious football arena in Southeast Asia - AFF Cup is still unfinished for the player from Hung Nguyen.

Coach Park Hang-seo's decision to "abandon" Ho Tuan Tai is completely reasonable, because in the hands of the Korean strategist are a series of talented faces, in high form such as Nguyen Anh Duc, Nguyen Tien Linh or Ha Duc Chinh.

Witnessing the excellent performance of striker Nguyen Tien Linh, born in 1997, Nghe An fans cannot help but feel sad and regretful when thinking about Ho Tuan Tai. At the age of 23, a bright future awaits "Van Quyen's cousin" ahead. As long as this striker works hard to practice and regains his inherent confidence, the door to the Vietnam National Team is still waiting./.