Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth - Children Football Tournament: A place for defender Vuong Van Huy to take flight

Vuong Van Huy in Song Lam Nghe An shirt (wearing blue pitch shirt). Photo: Duc Anh

Efforts to win trust

At 4pm on Vinh Stadium, under the scorching heat of 40 degrees Celsius, Vuong Van Huy and his teammates still had to "swallow" the training plan created by the coaching staff of Song Lam Nghe An. This is the first year the defender from Yen Thanh has been promoted to the first team of Song Lam Nghe An. He is working hard every day to improve himself and hopes to soon gain the trust of coach Huy Hoang.

Although Huy's physique is not ideal, in return, the defender born in 2001 possesses good speed, good physical strength, and always plays with a fiery spirit. That partly attracts the attention of the audience every time this player plays. This season, Vuong Van Huy has played 3 times for Song Lam Nghe An. Although he has not left a significant mark, this defender is gradually adapting to the V.League environment and playing more confidently with each match.

Vuong Van Huy shared: “The match against Hai Phong in round 3 of V.League 2023 was the first time I played for Song Lam Nghe An. Although I only experienced the highest level of football in Vietnam for more than 10 minutes, it gave me a very different feeling when playing at the youth team level. I was a bit overwhelmed by the sounds coming from all over the stands, and felt mentally tense every time I was approached by the opponent's foreign players. And so I had a few moves that did not go as planned. However, after that, everything started to get better and I felt more confident when the coach trusted me to play.”

This season, in the position of full-back at Song Lam Nghe An, Vuong Van Huy will have to compete with players such as Tran Dinh Hoang, Ho Van Cuong, Mai Sy Hoang. These are all experienced players with their own strengths. Therefore, a new player joining the first team needs to make more efforts to gain the trust of the coaching staff.

Vuong Van Huy joins youth training centerLam River Nghe Ansince 2012. In the youth teams, he was tested in many positions. However, with a height of 1m66, this player only really impressed when the coaches arranged him to play on the wing. In that position, Huy affirmed his talent when he won many medals at national youth football tournaments. Notably, he won the National U13 Championship with Song Lam Nghe An in 2014; Silver Medal at the National U17 Championship; 2 Bronze Medals at the National U19 Championship.

In 2022, Vuong Van Huy and U21 Song Lam Nghe An participated in the National U21 Tournament. At that tournament, Huy was one of the most important links in coach Nguyen Van Tien's tactical scheme. In all 3 group stage matches, the defender born in 2001 was on the field in the official lineup. The presence of this player on the right wing brought quality attacks to U21 Song Lam Nghe An. Unfortunately, at the 2022 National U21, U21 Nghe An encountered an incident and had to stop early. Therefore, Vuong Van Huy no longer had the opportunity to shine in the Song Lam Nghe An youth team.

Where passion takes flight

Back to the training session at Vinh Stadium of Nghe An football team, due to the harsh weather, every 15 minutes the players were given a break to drink water. During this break, we had the opportunity to talk to Vuong Van Huy to learn about his fate in football. Although he was out of breath due to having just finished his homework, Huy was still enthusiastic, talking about his beautiful childhood memories, the place that brought him to the path of professional football.

“If there was no Nghe An Newspaper Cup back then, there would be no defender Vuong Van Huy of today. The Newspaper Cup is where my dream came true,” Vuong Van Huy affirmed.

Vuong Van Huy was the best player of the Youth - Children Football Tournament of Nghe An Newspaper Cup in 2012. Photo: FBNV

Vuong Van Huy showed his talent for football when he was still a primary school student. He always participated in tournaments organized by the school. With his outstanding performance, Huy quickly caught the attention of the district coaches. In 2012, Vuong Van Huy and the Yen Thanh Children's Team participated in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup.

That season, the Nghe An Newspaper Cup was divided into groups to compete. Yen Thanh Children excellently won first place in their group, becoming 1 of 8 teams present in Vinh to compete in the final round.

Going out for the first time gave Huy many new things and also memories that have followed this defender until now.

Vuong Van Huy recalls: “The days participating in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup gave me many beautiful memories. My mother took me to BigC, experienced many video games, ate ice cream... All of those became beautiful, unforgettable memories.”

Discovering many interesting things in Vinh city, brought motivation and excitement to Vuong Van Huy to have an explosive season in the Yen Thanh Children's shirt. Although playing in the winger position, Van Huy always made a difference, thereby contributing many important goals for the home team. In the 2012 season, Yen Thanh Children's Football went straight to the championship of the Youth Football Tournament - Children's Cup Nghe An Newspaper without encountering too many obstacles. Also in that year's tournament, Vuong Van Huy was voted the best player of the tournament.

The impressive performance at the Nghe An Newspaper Cup brought Vuong Van Huy to the Song Lam Nghe An youth training center. From here, Vuong Van Huy has been able to live his passion to the fullest and look forward to a bright future ahead.

"If I had to choose again, I would still choose to follow the path of professional football" - Vuong Van Huy shared.