Dinh Bac kneels to apologize: A beautiful gesture that earns the respect of Thai and Indonesian fans.
Despite Vietnam U23's defeat against China U23, striker Nguyen Dinh Bac still impressed international friends with his sense of responsibility and humility after the match.
Following Vietnam U23's disappointing defeat to China U23 in the semi-finals, regional media attention shifted beyond the match score to focus on the emotional moment involving striker Nguyen Dinh Bac. The image of the young player kneeling on the field and bowing his head in apology to his fans created a powerful wave of emotion that spread throughout Southeast Asia.
The unexpected shift in attitude from the Thai media.
Most notably among the international reactions was the move from Buriram Prankster, one of Thailand's largest football fan pages with over 200,000 followers. Known for its satirical posts whenever Vietnamese football suffers unfavorable results, this time the Thai news site displayed a completely different attitude.
The administrator of this page did not hesitate to praise the humility of the young Vietnamese striker:"Did you know that striker Nguyen Dinh Bac showed incredible responsibility? After the final whistle, he knelt down and apologized to the fans. That was a moment of respect, passion, and true love for the national team. Football is not just about winning, but also about human qualities.".
The wave of support spread across Southeast Asia.
The wave of support for Nguyen Dinh Bac is not limited to Thailand; it has spread to regional football forums such as ASEAN Football. Many Indonesian fans have spoken out in defense of and encouraged the young Vietnamese star amidst the invisible pressures he is facing.
On online forums, an account from Indonesia shared sympathetically: "Dinh Bac doesn't need to apologize. He played through the pain when he wasn't in his best form. The responsibility isn't entirely his, but he still bravely stepped forward to take the blame. An extremely respectable attitude." Even the media and news sites in China – his direct opponent in the match – expressed admiration for this action.
Dinh Bac's moment of bowing his head proved that, in elite sports, sometimes an athlete's attitude and character leave a deeper and more valuable impression than the numbers on the scoreboard. The recognition from major regional rivals demonstrates the value of the noble sportsmanship that young Vietnamese players are cultivating.
