Famous player Duong Hong Son - 'first sweet fruit of the season' of Nghe An Newspaper Cup Football Tournament
(Baonghean.vn) - 23 years ago, the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament was held for the first time. At this tournament, the bright star, the player associated with the 2008 AFF Cup Championship of Vietnamese football was discovered by the SLNA training center.
Quynh Luu district has a long tradition of football. More than 20 years ago, Quynh Luu had a district-level children's football tournament. After that tournament, Quynh Luu selected an elite team to participate in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament for the first time. Duong Hong Son, a boy from Cau Giat town, was one of the outstanding faces in the district's gifted team.
At that time, Hong Son played as a winger, but when the home team’s goalkeeper was injured, Hong Son was “thrown” his gloves and stood in the goal. This “reluctant” goalkeeper played impressively and immediately caught the eye of coach Nguyen Van Huy – a scout of SLNA.
"When I was a child, my friends and I did not set ourselves any big goals. We just wanted to satisfy our passion with exciting football matches on the bumpy fields in our hometown. Thanks to the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament, I was able to enter SLNA's training center."
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| Quynh Luu is considered the cradle of Nghe An football. Photo: Sy Hieu |
During his early training time at SLNA youth team, Hong Son still played two positions in parallel, goalkeeper and midfielder. In SLNA U14 shirt, Hong Son and his teammates won the national championship. Two years later, he and Phan Thanh Hoan, Chu Ngoc Canh, Nguyen Cong Manh won the national U16 championship and won the title of Best Goalkeeper.
At that time, the U16 Vietnam team was led by Coach Nguyen Hong Thanh and Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh. This year was also the first time Hong Son wore the national youth team jersey. There was a time when Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh let Hong Son play as a defender and a center back because of his limited physique, but both of these positions were not successful. After that, both coaches believed that Hong Son would be a promising goalkeeper, encouraged him and brought him back to the goalkeeper position.
Winning the national U18 championship in 1998 with Huy Hoang, Thanh Hoan, Hai Nam..., 3 years later Hong Son was officially promoted to the SLNA first team. This goalkeeper's success in the youth arena did not stop when he and the SLNA U21 team won consecutive championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
| "Spiderman" Hong Son shines in Thailand at AFF Cup 2008. Video: VFF |
Duong Hong Son was promoted to the SLNA first team for training in 2001. However, SLNA's number 1 goalkeeper at that time was Vo Van Hanh and Nguyen The Anh. In 2002, Hong Son was sent to play for Hanoi ACB Club on loan and contributed greatly to helping this team get promoted. Returning to SLNA as a reserve, it was not until 2004, when Van Hanh joined HAGL and The Anh moved to Dong A Bank, that Hong Son became SLNA's number 1 choice.
At the beginning of the year, SLNA's contracts expired with a number of players, and Hong Son was one of them. Unable to stay at SLNA, he turned down XM Hai Phong to join Hanoi T&T, which had just been promoted to the First Division. His debut was not really impressive, but in the end, he still played well and helped the club get promoted to the V.League.
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| Goalkeeper Duong Hong Son was the best player of AFF Cup 2008. Photo: Zing |
Since then, Hong Son has always been a reliable stopper for the Capital team for 8 years, helping Hanoi FC win the V.League twice in the 2010 and 2013 seasons. In the 2015 V.League season, despite being 33 years old, Hong Son still played almost the entire first leg before giving way to young goalkeepers like Anh Duc and Minh Long in the later stages.
Remember in 2007 before the Asian Cup campaign, from a reserve goalkeeper, Hong Son was the main goalkeeper in the matches against UAE and Qatar, helping Vietnam reach the quarter-finals of the continental tournament for the first time. Before the AFF Cup 2008, coach Calisto (former head coach of the Vietnam national team) summoned goalkeepers Phan Van Santos, Nguyen The Anh, Bui Quang Huy and Tran Duc Cuong. But then The Anh was disciplined by Mr. Calisto, removed from the national team and Hong Son was only called up as a supplement.
From a goalkeeper who was promoted to the national team by a wildcard, Duong Hong Son played an important role in the historic championship of the Vietnam National Team at the AFF Cup 2008 with many amazing saves. Especially the unbelievable saves in the second leg against Singapore and the two final matches against Thailand. The AFF Cup 2008 was also a dream tournament for Hong Son when he was awarded the title of Best Player of the tournament and was included in the typical team.
“I burst into joy after winning the AFF Cup 2008 Best Player award. It was not only an honor in a regional tournament but also the most meaningful title of my career.”
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| In 2016, the goalkeeper born in 1982 decided to retire to take on the position of coach at the Hanoi Club U19 team. Photo: Trung Hieu |
The performance of the goalkeeper from Nghe An at the regional tournament was completely convincing, he was voted Vietnam Golden Ball 2008 and entered the top 10 best goalkeepers in Asia. That was enough for Duong Hong Son to always be remembered and considered one of the legendary goalkeepers and players of Vietnamese football.
During his playing career, Hong Son not only achieved many successes but also became a model of perseverance and extraordinary determination of a son of Nghe An. To date, he is also a successful player in the world.
The first season of the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament brought Duong Hong Son to football. It can be said that the 2008 Vietnam Golden Ball is one of the “first fruits of the season”./.
Duong Hong Son Born: November 20, 1982 in Cau Giat, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An. Achievements: National U14 and U16 Champion with SLNA (from 2001-2008): V.League Champion 2001, Runner-up 2002; National Cup Champion 2002 HN T&T (from 2008-2016): V.League Champion 2010, 2013; Runner-up 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015; National Cup Runner-up 2012, 2015; National Super Cup 2010, Runner-up 2013 and 2015; First Division Champion 2008; Vietnam National Team (from 2003-2016): Champion of AFF Suzuki Cup 2008. Individual: Best player of AFF Suzuki Cup 2008, Vietnam Golden Ball 2008. Playing for U23 Vietnam: 60 matches, playing for the national team: 36 matches.
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