The remarkable mark left by football talents from Nghe An province.
(Baonghean.vn) - In football, there are things that seem random or coincidental, but in reality, they always follow some inevitable pattern. For example, player A has a knack for scoring against team B, consistently finding the net while struggling against other teams. There's also a more interesting story: for instance, players from Song Lam Nghe An (or Nghe An) have often scored memorable goals in international competitions, leaving a clear mark on their careers.
Vietnamese football history will never forget the Democratic Republic of Vietnam's team's trip to Indonesia for the 1963 Asian GANEFO Championship. In that match against Cambodia, Van Sy Chi's team was trailing 0-2 in the first half. With courage and superb ball skills, Van Sy Chi scored the equalizer, making it 2-2, and then, along with his teammates, came back to win 3-2 in a historic match. He was a football "master" who was equally adept with both his right and left feet, achieving an equal success rate with both feet thanks to rigorous training.
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Former football legend Van Sy Chi (sitting in the middle) in the Thể Công jersey in 1968. Photo: The late photographer Phan Sang. |
The miracle was that 34 years after Van Sy Chi's legendary goal, his eldest son, Van Sy Hung, shone brightly on the Senayan pitch in Indonesia with two goals to draw with the powerful host team, helping the Vietnamese national team secure a place in the semi-finals of the 1997 SEA Games. He was a skillful, intelligent striker, a player with exceptional flair, a rare gem in Vietnamese football history.
Following in the tradition of their predecessors, Song Lam Nghe An players, when honored to wear the jerseys of the Vietnamese national team, U23 Vietnam, or U20 Vietnam, continue to prove their important role in many international tournaments with memorable goals.
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Van Quyen - Golden Ball winner in 2003. Photo: tuoitre.vn |
That was Van Quyen with the only goal against South Korea, a top Asian team, in the 2004 Asian Cup qualifiers. Remember, at that time, the Vietnamese national team was just a small team, rarely having the opportunity to play against the continent's powerful teams, let alone score a goal or even win a match. Yet Van Quyen did it, and the Vietnamese team did it, causing a sensation across the continent. Later, Vietnamese football always considered that a significant milestone to strive for, even though things are never easy.
Following in the footsteps of his senior teammate at Song Lam Nghe An, striker Cong Vinh also scored some of the most important goals of his career against the Thai national team in the 2008 AFF Cup final. In particular, Cong Vinh's equalizer from Minh Phuong's superb free-kick helped the Vietnamese national team draw 1-1 in the second leg (Vietnam won 2-1 away in the first leg, with Cong Vinh scoring the winning goal), securing Vietnam's first-ever championship title in the region's premier tournament. This showcased the exceptional goal-scoring skills of the top striker of the Vietnamese national team and Song Lam Nghe An, a level of performance and effectiveness rarely achieved by players today.
That also includes Trong Hoang – the "hero with no lungs" who has been a part of the Vietnamese national team and U23 team throughout the eras from Calisitor to the current Park Hang-seo. Trong Hoang has scored many goals, but most notably the only goal for the Vietnamese national team in an international friendly against the famous Olimpiacos team from Greece in 2004, the only goal in Vietnam's victory over Qatar in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, and the only goal in Vietnam's victory over Malaysia in the 2016 AFF Cup. It's worth remembering that, to date, Trong Hoang holds the record for the most titles won, including the 2018 AFF Cup, a 2019 SEA Games gold medal, and national championships with Song Lam Nghe An, Becamex Binh Duong, Viettel, and others.
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Dinh Xuan Tien (right) - a new discovery of the Vietnam U20 team. Photo: VFF |
Most recently, in the decisive match of the U20 regional qualifiers for the 2022 U20 Asian Championship in Indonesia, Dinh Xuan Tien, a player from Song Lam Nghe An, also shone brightly in both of Vietnam U20's goals. Xuan Tien's key pass was the initial breakthrough, opening up play on the wing for a teammate to run down and deliver a low cross into the box, causing the opposing center-back to score an own goal for Vietnam U20. The goal that put Vietnam U20 ahead 2-1 was a masterpiece of youth football, in which Xuan Tien stood out with his sharp tactical thinking and cool-headed goal-scoring skills on the opponent's pitch, which was under immense pressure…
It's clear that, in every stage of Vietnamese football, football stars from Nghe An and Song Lam Nghe An have always made outstanding contributions, leaving a strong mark on the team's overall success and providing great encouragement in the process of reaching new heights and developing together. Hopefully, the young, talented, and inexhaustible resources of Song Lam will continue to create sensational goals and memorable matches, delighting fans near and far, worthily continuing the illustrious legacy of their predecessors, and paving the way...
