Former defender Le Thanh Long: The silent 'hero' of Nghe An football

Thanh Hung• May 10, 2020 07:09

(Baonghean.vn) - With his contributions to SLNA for most of his football career, Le Thanh Long is considered the silent hero of the Nghe An team from the late 90s of the last century to the early 2000s.

At the age of 21, Le Thanh Long was promoted to the SLNA first team to play alongside famous seniors such as Van Sy Hung, Nguyen Huu Thang, Ngo Quang Truong, Phan Thanh Tuan, Pham Anh Tuan, Van Sy Son... Right in the first season (1995), Le Thanh Long was often used by former coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh.

Playing as a right-back in the 5-3-2 formation, the former player born in 1974 always completed the assigned tasks excellently. Like other colleagues, Le Thanh Long possesses a diligent, enthusiastic playing style and is not afraid of collisions. Besides, the former defender nicknamed Long "gio" also has the ability to read situations quite well. It is no coincidence that Le Thanh Long was always present in the starting lineup of SLNA from 1995 to 2002.

Lê Thành Long (đứng thứ 3 từ phải sang) trong đội hình SLNA năm 2001. Ảnh: Quang Minh

Le Thanh Long (3rd from right) in the SLNA team in 2001. Photo: Quang Minh

Objectively speaking, on the field, Le Thanh Long is not as outstanding as his other colleagues, typically Nguyen Huu Thang, Van Sy Hung, Ngo Quang Truong or Nguyen Phi Hung. However, Le Thanh Long's contributions to SLNA's noble titles are not small. In the colors of his hometown team, Long "gio" has owned a huge collection of titles (championship at the National Championship in 2000, V.League championship in 2001, National Cup championship in 2002...).

At the end of the 2003 season, Le Thanh Long decided to leave SLNA to join HAGL, with a contract worth over 100 million. At the mountain town team, Le Thanh Long still affirmed his class. Before leaving Pleiku Stadium, the former SLNA defender also had time to lift the V.League championship trophy with HAGL in the 2004 season. This was Long "gio"'s third championship in the most prestigious arena of Vietnamese football.

Lê Thành Long trong màu áo HAGL. Ảnh: FBNV

Le Thanh Long in HAGL shirt. Photo: FBNV

After 2 seasons playing for the Central Highlands team (2004 - 2005), Le Thanh Long moved to the North to play for Hanoi ACB. Although he was no longer at the peak of his career, the former player from Nghe An still played at a fair level. At the end of 2007, Long "gio" officially announced his retirement from "shorts and jersey" to move into the business field. After a while, Le Thanh Long had to leave the business world because his business was not going well.

Currently, Le Thanh Long is working as a coach at the T&T - VSH Youth Football Training Center (Cua Lo town), where many former SLNA players gather. In addition to Le Thanh Long, there are also Van Sy Hung, Van Sy Thuy, Van Sy Linh, Nguyen Quang Tho, Ho Thanh Thuong... Most of them are "once-famous" faces of Nghe An football./.

Former defender Le Thanh Long: The silent 'hero' of Nghe An football

Former defender Le Thanh Long

Nghe An football

SLNA

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