The tea boy became the head coach of SLNA

(Baonghean) - From a tea boy to the position of head coach of SLNA is a long journey and for Duc Thang, it is just like a fairy tale. On that journey there are sweat and tears, making today's success even more precious...

His career was not too illustrious, but when Duc Thang was chosen to sit on the "hot seat", many people supported him. Simply because in addition to his friendliness and responsibility for his work, Duc Thang is also known for his will and determination to overcome difficulties. October 27 is definitely an important milestone in Duc Thang's career, because from a tea boy years ago, he is now the head coach of the famous SLNA football team.

Nguyen Duc Thang when he was still wearing gloves as a goalkeeper for SLNA

Nguyen Duc Thang was born in 1977 in Giang Son commune, Do Luong district. His father worked as a road worker, and his mother worked at a pharmaceutical company, so Duc Thang's family later moved to Vinh to live. With many children in the family and his parents not making much money, Duc Thang and his four siblings had a very difficult childhood.

While still a student, Duc Thang had to sell tea every evening at the cinema, and during the day he worked as a construction worker for construction sites in Vinh City. His childhood was full of hardships and difficulties, so Duc Thang always dreamed of doing something to help himself and his family escape poverty. That opportunity came when in 11th grade, Duc Thang saw the staff of the Sports Training Center come to the school to announce the recruitment of volleyball players.

With an ideal height (1m82) and a passion for this sport since childhood, Duc Thang registered to participate. As soon as he appeared with his outstanding height, Duc Thang scored. After that, just by looking at a few balls, the leader of the Sports Training Center accepted him into the staff. Packing up and going to the center to study, Duc Thang was extremely happy, because from now on, the dream of escaping poverty was much closer. However, there were other opportunities that when "nurturing" the dream of changing his life as a volleyball player, Duc Thang probably could not have thought of.

Assistant Nguyen Duc Thang will replace coach Ngo Quang Truong in V-League 2017. Photo: Internet

The thing is that the Nghe An Province Sports Training Center is located right next to the Song Lam Football Team. Since he also loves football, Duc Thang took advantage of his free time to stop by Vinh Stadium to watch SLNA practice. Seeing Duc Thang's ideal height, the head of the Song Lam Football Team at that time, Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh, "fell in love" with him immediately. It was General Director Nguyen Hong Thanh who raised the issue and brought Duc Thang to the Song Lam "furnace" for a trial.

After training in the gifted class for 1 year, Duc Thang was promoted to the SLNA first team in late 1995. At first, Duc Thang was a reserve for Quoc Trung and then became SLNA's number 1 goalkeeper from the 1998 season. With his outstandingly tall body, his teammates nicknamed him "Dinosaur Thang". Thanks to his good performance in the SLNA shirt, Duc Thang was called up to the Vietnam Olympic team to participate in the Independence Cup and several other tournaments in 1999.

In 2004, Duc Thang followed his coach Nguyen Hong Thanh to join HN ACB. At that time, the "bribe" that the capital team paid Duc Thang was 150 million VND - a relatively large amount for a goalkeeper at that time. However, many people still respected Duc Thang because he refused to pay 250 million VND from Da Nang to keep his promise to his coach Nguyen Hong Thanh.

In 2009, when Bac A Bank took over SLNA and made an invitation, Duc Thang packed his bags and returned. He continued to play for his hometown team for another 3 years, before moving to become an assistant to Huu Thang and later Quang Truong. According to the sharing, in addition to A, B, C certificates in coaching, Duc Thang currently also has a physical fitness certificate, an advanced FIFA certificate, a level 1 and level 2 goalkeeper coaching certificate. He has become one of the best-qualified people in SLNA today.

Will and determination have created a studious Duc Thang, bringing him from a starting point that was not as good as many of his peers to the success he has today. Although knowing that challenges are still ahead, many people believe that from the hardships and difficulties, Duc Thang has learned valuable lessons and is ready to face all the difficulties ahead.

VINH LIEM