About Ho Khac Ngoc and SLNA's player number 12

If on the field, Khac Ngoc will play the role of conductor, then off the field, the audience (considered the 12th player) will be an indispensable source of encouragement for coach Duc Thang and his team.

Midfielder Ho Khac Ngoc has been playing for the Nghe An team since 2012 wearing the number 12 jersey. Up to now, the player born in 1992 has participated in the V-League for 6 years and is a mainstay in the midfield of the SLNA team.

Time of number 12

If he improves his ability to compete for aerial balls, this player wearing the number 12 shirt can definitely have a place in the National Team. Photo: An Thanh

In V.League 2017, Khac Ngoc played 21 matches and scored 3 goals. The role of this midfielder in coach Nguyen Duc Thang's tactical scheme is very important.

This talented midfielder is ranked first in the top 7 best central midfielders of V-League according to statistics from Instat. With the ability to support attacks (3 goals, 7 assists), reaching 191 points with 1815 minutes of play. The professional indicators of interception ability, accurate passing rate and especially decisive passes are all better than his colleagues playing in the same position.

Last season, the triangle of Khac Ngoc, Olaha and Phi Son was considered the decisive factor in the achievements of the SLNA team. Because Phi Son played so well, it somewhat obscured the image of the midfielder who played quite diligently in the midfield of the Nghe An team. When Phi Son moved to Ho Chi Minh City Club, the opportunity to take on the task of disturbing and creating for SLNA was given to Khac Ngoc.

In the 4 pre-season matches, Khac Ngoc has shown his increasingly perfect professional ability.SLNA midfielder Ho Khac Ngoc's masterpiece against Tampines Rovers won the award for Best Goal of the first match of AFC Cup 2018. With a total of 1515 votes out of 2991 votes, Ho Khac Ngoc won convincingly with a voting rate of 51%.

Khac Ngoc is a simple player who does not overuse personal techniques. This midfielder often has long-range cannon shots or difficult free kicks. The ability to block and block attacks is this player's strong point because of his experience in reading the game after 6 seasons playing for SLNA. If he improves his ability to compete for the ball in the air, this player wearing the number 12 shirt can completely have a place in the National Team.

Vinh Stadium is getting hotter

In previous seasons, Vinh Stadium was always deserted like this. Photo: An Thanh

After 3 years, people have witnessed about 15,000 spectators coming to Vinh Stadium to cheer for SLNA in 2 AFC Cup 2018 matches. Recently, the match between Song Lam Nghe An and Persija Jakarta, Vinh Stadium's stand B was filled with enthusiasm from Nghe An fans, including foreign fans. The performance of Xuan Manh and Van Duc in the U23 Vietnam jersey as well as SLNA's victories in AFC Cup 2018 has made Nghe An audiences excited again.

For Nghe An, football has become an indispensable spiritual food on weekends. In recent years, SLNA has been playing poorly, foreign players have not played impressively, and there are no stars on the field, so the audience has been falling. There are matches where the players play in an empty field, with only over 1,000 spectators.

For many years, SLNA has been in the ironic situation of playing at Go Dau Stadium (Binh Duong), Thong Nhat Stadium (HCMC) or Hang Day Stadium (Hanoi) where the audience is larger than at home. The "fire pan" of Vinh Stadium has cooled down, so SLNA's performance is not high, many times Nguyen Manh and his teammates have lost at home. Even in the match against Quang Nam last year, they lost 4-2 after scoring 2 goals first.

This year, SLNA encountered some difficulties when the captain goalkeeper Nguyen Manh was injured and Phi Son left. The return of the audience, the 12th player of the team, is extremely important to the team. There is no need to “hang up the number 12 shirt” like HAGL, but the respectful attitude of coach Duc Thang and his team towards the audience has “made hearts happy again”, and the “fire pot of Vinh city” will be hot.