Former striker Van Sy Thuy: From notorious goalscorer to football manager

The gallant "assassin"

Like his father Van Sy Chi and his four brothers Van Sy Ngoc, Van Sy Hung, Van Sy Son, Van Sy Linh, the former striker born in 1974 also spent his youth pursuing a football career. Surely Nghe An fans still have not forgotten the player with a slim body, aristocratic hair slicked back in the number 10 shirt of SLNA in the 90s of the last century - early 2000s.

Van Sy Thuy (far left) on the podium receiving the 2001 V.League championship title. Photo: Quang Minh

Not possessing the same technical foundation as Van Sy Hung, who plays alongside SLNA in the forward line, Van Sy Thuy has a rather simple playing style. Van Sy Thuy’s strong point is his ability to choose a position and finish with his head. If the opposing team’s defense loses focus for even a moment, SLNA’s number 10 player will immediately make them pay the price.

At that time, Van Sy Thuy was always considered by experts and fans of the country as one of the most dangerous strikers of Vietnamese football. The title of Top Scorer at the National Championship in 2000 (14 goals) was the clearest proof of the dangerousness of the 4th son of the Van family. The duo Van Sy Hung - Van Sy Thuy of SLNA used to be a nightmare for the defense of every team in the S-shaped strip of land.

Bad luck with the national team shirt

After consecutive seasons of impressive performance at the club level, Van Sy Thuy was called up by coach Alfred Riedl to the Vietnam National Team to participate in the Tiger Cup 2000 (the old name of the AFF Cup). At the tournament held in Thailand, Van Sy Thuy only appeared in the starting lineup once and scored 1 goal. Van Sy Thuy's goal was scored in the match between the Vietnam National Team and the Laos National Team (5 - 0) in the group stage.

Objectively speaking, Van Sy Thuy was not properly used by coach Alfred Riedl at the tournament held in the "Land of the Golden Pagoda", nearly 18 years ago. And that was also the only time Van Sy Thuy was "selected", in contrast to his older brother Van Sy Hung, a player who is often present in the Vietnam National Team participating in important tournaments such as SEA Games, Tiger Cup...

Members of the Van family (far right). Photo courtesy

It is completely understandable that Van Sy Thuy has no luck with the Vietnam National Team. At this stage, the country's football has a series of famous strikers. Besides Van Sy Hung, there are also Le Huynh Duc, Tran Minh Chien (Ho Chi Minh City Police), Nguyen Tuan Thanh (Hanoi Police), Huynh Quoc Cuong (Dong Thap), Dang Phuong Nam (The Cong)... It is too difficult for Van Sy Thuy to "catch the eye" of Coach Karl - Heiz Weigang, Coach Colin Murphy, Coach Alfred Riedl or Coach Henrique Calisto.

Turning point of life

At the end of the 2003 season, Van Sy Thuy said goodbye to SLNA to the surprise of experts and fans of Nghe An. The next destination of the striker born in 1974 was Hanoi ACB Club with a contract worth 100 million VND. Unfortunately, at Hang Day Stadium, Van Sy Thuy did not prove much and officially announced his retirement from football at the age of 30.

This was a very surprising decision, because teammates of the same age or the generation before Van Sy Thuy such as Ngo Quang Truong, Van Sy Son (1972), Le Van Luu, Nguyen Phi Hung (1974)... were still playing football at the peak of their performance. Van Sy Thuy retired from his "shorts and jersey" career with a huge collection of titles in the colors of his hometown team (National Championship champion in 2000, V.League champion in 2001, National Cup champion in 2002...).

Not long after leaving the football field, Van Sy Thuy found himself a new job, also related to the football field. With the joint efforts of the Van family, the Youth Football Training Center called VST was born in Cua Lo Town in early 2005. Notably, Van Sy Thuy was assigned the role of director. A big turning point in the life of the former striker who wore the number 10 shirt of SLNA.

Striker Van Sy Thuy (number 10) in SLNA shirt. Photo: Quang Minh

Witnessing the faltering steps of Van Sy Thuy in his new position, public opinion cannot help but doubt the possibility of success of the VST Youth Football Training Center. Not only is it difficult to compete with the famous SLNA training center, the modest financial potential is also a big obstacle for the VST Youth Football Training Center to operate smoothly as expected. Meanwhile, Van Sy Thuy does not have much experience in the role of manager. Despite such difficulties, the former SLNA player is still not shaken or wavering.

"The faithful fool"

Van Sy Thuy in a conversation with young players in Bac Giang province in 2019. Photo: NVCC

After 3 years of operation, VST Youth Football Training Center has encountered many difficulties, especially in the financial aspect. To avoid dissolution, the Van family had to sell 80% of its shares to Hai An Group (HCMC). Along with that, Van Sy Thuy had to step down to hold the position of Deputy Director, leaving the most important position (Director) to a representative of Hai An Group.

By 2012, VST Youth Football Training Center had become the training facility of Hanoi Club and had a new name: T&T - VSH Youth Football Training Center. Over time, generations of students "graduated", many colleagues left the "headquarters" of Cua Lo, but Van Sy Thuy remained devoted to the second cradle of training young players in Nghe An.

Under the management of Van Sy Thuy, T&T - VSH Youth Football Training Center has trained a series of excellent players for Hanoi Club and national teams, such as Sam Ngoc Duc, Ngan Van Dai, Tran Van Kien... It can be seen that, as a player or manager, Van Sy Thuy has always demonstrated his ability and enthusiasm. T&T - VSH Youth Football Training Center has achieved the achievements and reputation it has today, the contribution of the former SLNA striker is not small.