Portrait of the 4 top scorers of the 25th Nghe An Newspaper Children's Cup

The organizers awarded prizes to the best players, best goalkeepers, and top scorers in both youth and children's age groups. Photo: Pham Bang

1. Tran Dang Dat (No. 5, Tan Ky Children's School)

Born in 2014 in a farming family in Nghia Hanh commune, Dat has had a passion for football since childhood and has a special love for the "king" sport. While studying in grade 1, his house is far from town, but to satisfy his passion, his parents registered him for a football talent class in Tan Ky town. Although Dat was young at that time and had a small physique compared to his peers, the teachers in the coaching staff discovered that Dat had an innate talent for football, was very skillful and flexible, so they paid attention and practiced diligently.

Tran Dang Dat (red shirt) scored 6 goals to help Tan Ky win the championship. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Having talent, passion, and being trained systematically, and also being Dat's second year playing in the tournament, Dat was very trusted by the teachers in the Tan Ky Children's team. He was assigned to play as a striker. With his skillful, flexible feet and sharp technical thinking, Dat has become the main pillar of the team and the hope of the coaches of the Tan Ky children's football team.

Not letting down that hope, right from the first match against Nghi Loc Children's School, Tran Dang Dat scored a "double" of 2 goals, bringing a 7-0 victory to Tan Ky Children's School; in the match against Quynh Luu Children's School, Dang Dat also scored a beautiful goal, contributing to the home team's 2-0 victory; in the match against Nam Dan Children's School, Dat had a beautiful long-range shot, bringing a 3-0 result, winning a ticket to the semi-finals for the home team.

In the semi-final, Dat also contributed a beautiful goal to help Nhi dong Tan Ky take the lead in the first half. Notably, in the final match that took place on the morning of June 15, after being led by Nhi dong Quy Hop by 1 goal (due to the goalkeeper's own goal), Dang Dat's equalizer helped relieve the psychology of Tan Ky players, helping them regain a balanced game, play better, be more flexible and have a convincing victory to successfully defend the throne.

Tran Dang Dat (first on the left) is the most persistent player in Tan Ky's attack and defense. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Playing excellently, with 6 goals in 5 matches, Tran Dang Dat won the title of Top Scorer this year. The important thing is that his team won the championship very convincingly.

2. Lu Quoc Thinh (No. 11, Tuong Duong Children's School)

Although he could not help the mountain town of Tuong Duong go deep into this year's season, the leader of the attack, Lu Quoc Thinh, still had a great season with 6 goals.

Lu Quoc Thinh is a player from the mountainous district of Tuong Duong but excelled in winning the Golden Boot. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Lu Quoc Thinh was born in 2012 in Yen Na commune in a farming family. Although the geographical location is remote, it cannot stop his love for the round ball. Coach Nguyen Duc Thang, coach of the Tuong Duong Children's team, recalls: Thinh's house is about 30km from the stadium. On the first day of school, Thinh's father drove him to the stadium by motorbike, then had to leave him with relatives nearby because he could not take him back and forth 60km every day. Understanding that hardship, Thinh was very obedient, followed the exercises seriously, and gradually became an indispensable striker of the team.

Lu Quoc Thinh (orange shirt, third from right) is a small but very talented member of the team. Photo: Quang An

According to the coach's assessment, Lu Quoc Thinh is a boy with a small body but is very agile and resilient, with excellent tactical vision. What is special is that Thinh is the last player to join the team before participating in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup, with less training and familiarization time than his friends. However, thanks to his innate talent and seriousness in training, Thinh has risen to become the best player of the Tuong Duong team, scoring 6 goals in a major tournament.

It is known that parents and coaches will also try to create conditions for Thinh to continue his dream of becoming a professional player in the future.

3. Dinh La Thang (No. 10, Thanh Chuong Children's School)

This year, Thanh Chuong Children's Team caused a big surprise when they reached the semi-finals and only lost to the champion Tan Ky on penalties. Although they left the tournament with regret, the Thanh Chuong young players left an impressive and dedicated tournament in the hearts of the audience. And the brightest star in the Nhut team is number 10 Dinh La Thang.

Dinh La Thang (right) is the most important trigger of Thanh Chuong Children's School. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Dinh La Thang was born in a peaceful countryside of Thanh Giang commune in a farming family. Ms. Nguyen Thi Soa, Thang's mother, recalls: When he was 3-4 years old, he had a passion for football. After school, he invited his brothers in the neighborhood to play football. Every day, his clothes were dirty. There were days when he played so hard that his arms and legs were bruised. I felt sorry for him, so I scolded him and did not let him play football. However, as he grew older, his love for football became stronger. Many friends his age now only pay attention to their phones, but Thang is still the same, whenever he has free time, he invites his friends to play football.

I loved my son so I changed my mind and took him to the district to find a football training class for him. Luckily, I met a teacher who loved him and taught him wholeheartedly. This is the second year my son has participated in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup and won the Golden Boot, so I am very proud.

It is known that after this season, Dinh La Thang will continue to practice and improve his skills, with the support of his parents, hoping he will be successful in his future career as a professional football player.

4. Vo Duc Anh (No. 6, Yen Thanh Children's Hospital)

Vo Duc Anh is a football player born in Minh Thanh, his father was a professional player who played in the V-League. His love for football was nurtured by his father during the days he watched him practice and compete.

Vo Duc Anh is the number 1 hope of Yen Thanh Children. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Vo Trong Phu, Vo Duc Anh's father, said: Duc Anh has both passion and talent since childhood. Seeing his potential, his family also guided him to pursue a career in football. He studied with his teacher and his father to further hone his skills. His forte is the midfielder position, but his ability to score goals is also very impressive. He was the top scorer to help Song Lam Nghe An win the 2022 National U9 Championship.

Vo Duc Anh (right) is the top scorer of the 2022 National U9 tournament. Photo: PV

In this year's season, Vo Duc Anh was the top scorer of Yen Thanh Children, however, he suffered an injury so he could not play the entire match against Vinh City in the last round of the group stage, this was part of the reason why Yen Thanh could not move on due to the lack of the most important "trigger". Hopefully, Duc Anh will come back stronger next year to bring the "rice hometown" to win the highest title./.