Nghe An girl who loves football becomes a player of Thai Son Nam Women's Futsal Club

(Baonghean.vn) - Born into a family with no tradition of sports, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Mai has a special talent and passion for the "king of sports". Mai has won many medals from football and sepak takraw competitions... Currently, this 18-year-old girl has been honored to be invited to become a female player of the Thai Son Nam Women's Futsal Club in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ngoc Mai has a burning passion for football.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Mai (Hamlet 13, Nghi Lien Commune, Vinh City) is a unique and active girl since birth. Unlike many girls her age, Mai does not play jump rope or other girls' games, but only focuses on participating in strong boys' games such as soccer, shuttlecock kicking, running...

Mai discovered that she loved soccer when she was in 4th grade. Many times she ran to the stadium to play, saw the boys playing soccer, and for some reason her eyes were glued to the ball, and in her heart arose the feeling that she would be able to play like them. From then on, Mai loved soccer more than any other game.

The medals Ngoc Mai won are always hung solemnly in the family living room by her parents.

Every afternoon, after finishing her housework to help her parents, Mai would take the ball to the back of the house to juggle, kick it alone, and then practice throwing it back and forth against the wall. As she grew older, Mai continued to devote her time and interest to playing soccer.

In the sports activities of the school as well as the neighborhood where Mai lives, Mai has never been absent from the enthusiastic and energetic little girl. Mai's parents also wholeheartedly support their daughter's hobby. Whenever the school or the neighborhood has a soccer match, Mai's father or mother always takes her there so that she can participate. Mai has even been the main "coach" for the neighborhood's youth soccer teams up to now.

Ngoc Mai (wearing a blue shirt) takes a photo with friends at the 2016 National Phu Dong Sports Festival.

From middle school to high school, Mai was continuously an athlete, a player, a "star" in the soccer teams of Nghi Lien Secondary School and Nguyen Duy Trinh High School. In tournaments from school to city and province, Mai was noticed by teachers as well as coaches and created conditions for her to compete. Because in Mai, it is not only a hobby, a passion, but above all, she really has a talent for sports, especially in soccer.

Without the opportunity to attend extra classes or training at sports centers, Mai practices and trains alone at home. Mai often watches football on TV or through websites to learn more about football techniques. She constantly learns and devotes her passion to the round ball.

Mai's parents are proud and always support their little daughter's passion.

Thanks to that, for many years, Mai herself scored many goals and the teams she participated in continuously won medals. In 2008, Mai alone helped the Nghi Lien Secondary School team score 14 goals.

In 2012, while in 8th grade, Mai was one of the players with the Vinh city team that won the first prize in Nghe An province's women's football. In the recent 2016 National Phu Dong Sports Festival, Mai helped the home team Nghe An High School women's football score 4 goals and bring home the honorable bronze medal for her home province.

Her main passion is football, but besides that, this 1m67 tall girl also has outstanding achievements in sepak takraw and cross-country running. Typically, in 2013, Mai represented Vinh city and won first prize in the cross-country race organized by Sacombank Bank, Run for Community Health. When she was a 10th grade student, Mai "brought" to her school 2 gold medals and 4 silver medals in the sepak takraw competition in Nghe An province.

One of the reasons that gave Mai more determination to pursue this passion was that she idolized the world's number 1 football superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid Club. Mai admired this player so much that she "imitated" everything from wearing the number 7, wearing ao dai inside every time she went to the field... And before going to the field, Mai always went online to review the kicks and dribbling techniques of this number 7 superstar to learn and use as motivation.

Image of Ngoc Mai exercising at Thai Son Nam Futsal Club, Ho Chi Minh City.

With a strong passion and natural talent, after the recent National Phu Dong Sports Festival, Mai caught the attention of football experts and was officially invited by former General Secretary of the Vietnam Football Federation Ngo Le Bang to join the Thai Son Nam Women's Futsal Team (District 8, Ho Chi Minh City). And this club is one of the clubs with a rich tradition as well as the cradle of football in Ho Chi Minh City for decades.

Away from her family, parents and younger sister, alone in a faraway land, and stationed in a disciplined, strict club that not everyone has the talent and courage to pursue, but for Mai, it was a great opportunity for her to develop her passion, a place to help her accumulate experience in playing football.

Mai shared: “I hope that one day when I grow up, I can bring my abilities back to contribute to my hometown Nghe An.” That is also the future goal of this beautiful and talented girl.

Thien Thien