Football player Nguyen Manh's family: Common love and individual happiness

Strength from the home front

In Do Luong - the great cradle of the province's physical education and sports movement, the player's familyTran Nguyen Manhis one of the most special cases. The father of this national team goalkeeper is Mr. Tran Nguyen Thu - one of the physical education teachers respected by generations of students of Dang Son Secondary School (Do Luong) loved and had many high achievements contributing to the school sports movement of the district as well as the province. Nguyen Manh's older brother is Tran Nguyen Hung - an excellent player in amateur football tournaments in and outside the province. The sports tradition in this family is naturally nurtured on the foundation of respect. Behind the achievements of the 3 father and sons is the shadow of a hard-working, sacrificial wife and mother.

Teacher Tran Nguyen Thu's family has 3 people pursuing sports careers. Photo: NVCC

Before having a stable life like now, teacher Tran Nguyen Thu's family was famous for being... poor. Both he and his wife - Mrs. Hoang Thi Nam, were born into large, hard-working families. After serving in the army, Mr. Tran Nguyen Thu returned to work in his hometown in his profession as a physical education and sports teacher. Coming together with nothing, Mr. Thu devoted himself to teaching, Ms. Nam shouldered all kinds of goods to support the family's life and take care of the education of 3 children.

In a spacious house, talking about the difficult days, Mrs. Nam confided: “During the construction of Do Luong bridge, to have more money for her children to study, I took on the job of cooking for a group of 25 workers. Everyone said I didn’t know my limits, because at that time my husband was studying far away, my children were young, and I had a long-time business. But I still did it. Every morning at 5am, Hien (the eldest daughter) and Nguyen Hung would wake up to catch chickens, birds, bundles of vegetables… and load them onto the truck for their mother to import in Vinh. They would rush to transport them to Vinh, sell them all to the traders, then rush back to the market, buy food and serve the workers. In the afternoon, they would go to import goods, come back at night to cook, take care of their children… Every day was like that until the bridge was finished. Thinking back, I still shudder. Luckily, God gave me the health to overcome all these difficulties.”

Photo: Diep Thanh

Not only taking care of her small family, Mrs. Nam is an exemplary daughter and sister, sharing and being responsible for both her paternal and maternal families. Talking about his wife, Mr. Tran Nguyen Thu was moved: “Looking back on the past years, I am extremely grateful and impressed by my “rear”. To live fully with my passion and fulfill my responsibility of leading young athletes to participate in sports competitions, Phu Dong Sports Festival… many times I came home late and often worked away from home. Yet, throughout the years of living together, my wife has never complained or blamed me. If it weren’t for my wife’s silent sacrifice and support, my career would not have had the joys it has today…”.

Explaining her absolute support for her husband's career, Mrs. Nam just smiled gently: "Each person is born with a separate role and destiny, so I understand and respect my husband's passion and choices. If I cannot help my husband on his career path, I will stay behind to be a strong support for my husband and children."

Brothers Nguyen Hung and Nguyen Manh with their parents in a football tournament in Do Luong. Photo: NVCC

If the support of Mr. Thu is his hard-working wife, then the support of the two brothers Nguyen Hung - Nguyen Manh is both their father and mother. Sharing about his family, Nguyen Hung said: "As much as Nam's mother supports Thu's father's passion for sports, Thu's father supports his two sons' passion for sports in the same way. As long as it is about playing sports, the parents will create the best conditions for their children to have time to participate, encourage them to find their passion and live it to the fullest. And the mother will be strict, always listening and present at every turning point in life with thoughtful advice. If the father is the one who helps my brothers and I nurture our passion and follow the path of sports, the mother is the one who guides and trains us to live decently and know right from wrong" - Tran Nguyen Hung confided.

Silent support

Contrary to what many people think, the two brothers Nguyen Hung - Nguyen Manh came to sports naturally, voluntarily and never had to endure the pressure of their parents' expectations. That love grew after waking up early in the mornings with their father to play volleyball, after seasons of cheering for their father's team, after free afternoons playing with the ball on the empty ground near home... "Following in our father's footsteps, both of us can play many different sports, but our parents never told us what we had to be good at or what we had to study. As long as it was a healthy sport, our parents would support us, because more than anyone, our parents understood that the path of professional sports was not easy. They didn't even impose academic achievements on us" - Nguyen Hung shared.

Teacher Tran Nguyen Thu is one of the teachers who brought many achievements in the youth and children's sports movement to Do Luong district. Photo: NVCC

Being a quiet and strict person, Mr. Thu's support for his two children was as quiet and silent as his personality. Seeing that his children liked it,football, the teacher registered his children for community talent classes and diligently drove them there and back twice a day, rain or shine. To earn more money to support his children's passion, one session the teacher taught, the other session he helped his wife sell goods.

Although not pursuing a professional football career, Nguyen Hung can still live with his passion on the "street" football path. Photo: NVCC

On the challenging path to his passion for football, Nguyen Hung felt that silent support most clearly. Along with his younger brother, he took the entrance exam to SLNA's training camp. Although he had good technique, Nguyen Hung was rejected because of his small body. Both sad and busy with his studies, Hung neglected football for a while. After graduating from high school, because he wanted to become a person like his father, Hung took the entrance exam to the University of Physical Education and Sports but unfortunately failed because he was 0.5 points short. Disappointed and confused, Hung did not know what to do and what was the right path. “That was the period when I was most depressed, and also the period when my father was most worried, even though he didn’t say it. After that, with my father’s trust, I went to Korea to work. Returning after 9 years away from home, although I started quite late, I was happy because I could both work for a living and pursue my passion for football in the “street” tournaments,” Nguyen Hung confided. In the grassroots football tournaments in and outside the province, Nguyen Hung is considered a promising player with good physical strength and good technique. Most recently, in the 7-a-side football tournament, this player was voted one of the best players and won the title of “Top scorer”.

Mr. Thu and his wife always accompany their children in every match. Photo: NVCC

As for goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh - he now has a warm and happy family. That solid support has contributed to making Nguyen Manh very successful in his career. He has participated in many tournaments and is an indispensable name in the Vietnam National Team. After 10 years of playing professionally for SLNA, Nguyen Manh said goodbye to the Nghe An team when V.League 2019 ended and joined Viettel Club with a 3-year contract. Before that, he was the best goalkeeper of the 2019 season with 9 clean sheets for SLNA, the goalkeeper who conceded the fewest goals.

Currently, wearing Viettel's shirt, Nguyen Manh shows his constant efforts. Among the goalkeepers playing in V.League, the player born in 1991 is always rated by experts as being at the top.

Nguyen Manh and his teammates. Photo archive

Mrs. Hoang Thi Nam - mother of goalkeeper Nguyen Manh shared: From when the children were young until now, when they have their own paths and careers, Mr. Thu and his wife have never missed a match with their children's participation, whether near or far. "I still remember, when Nguyen Manh was studying at the SLNA Youth Football Training Center, my husband and I once rode a motorbike to Vinh to cheer for our children in very bad weather conditions. After the match ended at 9 pm, we drove back to Do Luong in the pouring rain, trees were scattered everywhere, the road was not only unlit but also damaged... That stormy trip could not be a reason to prevent future trips, but from that event, my husband and I also strived to buy a small car to make it more convenient to go cheer for our children"./.