The arduous journey of former SLNA midfielder Pham Manh Hung

Grown from the training groundSLNA,born in 1993 with Que Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Sy Nam, Cao Xuan Thang... Even compared to the above friends, the central defender from Thai Hoa town emerged quite early. At the age of 17, Pham Manh Hung was the owner of the title "best player" at the 2010 National U17 Finals, and was considered one of the most promising young talents of the SLNA training center at that time.

Unfortunately, the success at the 2010 National U17 Finals was just a flash in the pan of Hung "crossbar". Although he was promoted to SLNA's first team at the beginning of the 2013 season, Pham Manh Hung did not contribute much to the Nghe An team. Frequent elementary mistakes were the reason why the former U23 Vietnam and Vietnam National Team player lost his position to his junior Hoang Van Khanh.

Pham Manh Hung in SLNA shirt. Photo: Hai Anh

Even when coach Nguyen Duc Thang arranged for him to play in the left-back position,Pham Manh Hungalso only brought disappointment. Unable to be patient any longer, the SLNA coaching board had to push Pham Manh Hung to the bench. According to statistics, in the last 2 seasons wearing the SLNA shirt (2017 - 2018), Hung "crossbar" only played a total of 19 times with a duration of 1347 minutes, in the V.League arena.

At the end of the 2018 season, Pham Manh Hung's contract was not renewed by SLNA. The next destination of the central defender born in 1993 was SHB Da Nang. However, the situation at the Han River team was not really brighter than at his hometown team, when Pham Manh Hung was not appreciated by coach Le Huynh Duc. Or to be more precise, coach Le Huynh Duc had run out of confidence after the former SLNA player's regrettable mistakes.

As a result, Pham Manh Hung had to pack his bags and leave Hoa Xuan Stadium to join Hai Phong at the beginning of the 2020 season. Under the guidance of his former teacher, Coach Pham Anh Tuan, Pham Manh Hung was "revived" in Hai Phong. Over the past two seasons (2020 - 2021), Hung "crossbar" has somewhat demonstrated his talent and importance to the Lach Tray Stadium team. It is no coincidence that the Hai Phong coaching staff gave Pham Manh Hung the captain's armband.

Pham Manh Hung had a quite successful playing period at Lach Tray Stadium. Photo: FBNV

However, Hai Phong's change in the coaching bench (coach Chu Dinh Nghiem replaced coach Pham Anh Tuan) turned everything upside down. Instead of continuing to contribute to the Lach Tray team, Hung "crossbar" had to "follow the call" of Nam Dinh's Board of Directors. It is worth mentioning that the contract that Thanh Nam team gave Pham Manh Hung was only for 1 year, too modest for a player at the peak of his career (28 years old).

Anyway, Pham Manh Hung has "found a place". Hopefully, under the guidance of coach Nguyen Van Sy, Hung "crossbar" will develop his full potential and overcome the shortcomings in his playing style, especially no more aggressive tackles than necessary./.