Former midfielder Truong Quang Tuan: 'The one who sowed sadness' for China U16 in 2000, where is he now?
(Baonghean.vn) - At the time when the match between U16 Vietnam and U16 China at the 2000 Asian Cup was coming to its final minutes, receiving a delicate pass from Phan Nhu Thuat, the player wearing the number 7 shirt calmly pushed the ball one more time and then made an accurate shot, setting the score at 3 - 2 for the home team. That was midfielder Truong Quang Tuan.
Whenever mentioning the achievements of U16 Vietnam at the U16 Asian Cup in 2000, most of the country's football fans usually only remember the excellence of "golden boy" Phan Van Quyen, "conductor" Phan Nhu Thuat or goalkeeper Pham Duc Anh. This is unfair to some of the remaining members, especially Truong Quang Tuan, who contributed greatly to helping coach Nguyen Van Thinh and his team defeat their direct opponent U16 China to make their way to the semi-finals.
 |
| Truong Quang Tuan (number 7) in the match between U16 Vietnam and U16 Japan. Photo: Football |
For those who closely followed the entire journey of U16 Vietnam at the 2000 AFC U16 Championship, it was impossible not to appreciate the role of Truong Quang Tuan. Arranged by coach Nguyen Van Thinh to play in the right wing position, the player from Do Luong played extremely impressively, alongside Phan Nhu Thuat and Nguyen Khanh Khung in the midfield of U16 Vietnam. The excellence of the trio Phan Nhu Thuat - Nguyen Khanh Hung - Truong Quang Tuan in the midfield area helped the striker pair Pham Van Quyen - Nguyen Anh Cuong have many favorable opportunities in front of the opponent's goal.
 |
| Official lineup of U16 Vietnam at the 2000 AFC U16 Championship. Photo: TT&VH |
A brief recap like that shows how important Truong Quang Tuan was to U16 Vietnam at the 2000 U16 Asian Cup, although he cannot be compared to Pham Van Quyen, Phan Nhu Thuat, Nguyen Minh Duc, Pham Duc Anh, Nguyen Anh Cuong... But Truong Quang Tuan still deserves to be praised. Because, it is not by chance that the midfielder wearing the number 7 shirt was always present in the starting lineup of U16 Vietnam at the tournament held at Chi Lang Stadium (Da Nang), nearly 20 years ago.
Unfortunately, the 2000 AFC U16 Championship was not the launching pad for Truong Quang Tuan's career. Returning to the SLNA training center, the player born in 1983 "suddenly" became "a shadow of himself". Due to not being able to develop his talent any further, in early 2003, Truong Quang Tuan had to leave the SLNA training center to join the Da Nang training center. After 2 years of active training, Truong Quang Tuan's reward was a place to participate in the 2005 season with the Han River team. At the age of 22, Truong Quang Tuan had the first time to "breathe the air of the V.League".
At Chi Lang Stadium, Truong Quang Tuan received a lot of expectations from experts and football fans in Quang Nam. However, the more he played, the more obscure the former U16 Vietnam player became and was quickly forgotten on the bench. Although he was part of the SHB Da Nang Club that won the V.League 2009, Truong Quang Tuan's contribution to his home team was quite modest. At the end of the 2012 season, Truong Quang Tuan said goodbye to his "shorts and jersey" career.
Since retiring from football, Truong Quang Tuan has been active in the business sector. Currently, the small family of the former U16 Vietnam midfielder is living in Da Nang city./.
