Defender Au Van Hoan: "The warrior with a smiling face"

(Baonghean) -Receiving the ball from a corner kick from a teammate, with a moment of control and adjustment before unleashing a powerful shot that tore the roof off the net of goalkeeper To Vinh Loi (Thanh Hoa). The author of the goal ran as fast as he could to the corner of the stands with a celebratory gesture. That was the defender - "the warrior with the smiling face" Au Van Hoan.

Defender hunting for super goals

This is not the first time Hoan has scored in the V-League, but the goal scored at Vinh Stadium in the match on July 21st has a very special meaning for him and the audience who love him. Because, in addition to bringing victory to the home team SLNA, it also confirmed the return of defender Au Van Hoan - on the right wing, after a long time of losing his position to his junior Dinh Hoang. Therefore, when he scored the goal, he put all his emotions into that celebratory dance.

Ask how Hoan is so happy like a child. Simply in SLNA for the past 3-4 years, the right-back position used to be his "inviolable asset", especially when Hoan always coordinated very well with captain Trong Hoang in overlapping phases. Except for injuries and penalty cards, he had to sit on the sidelines to watch his teammates play. However, there were times when he lost his position in the Nghe An team, not because of his declining performance, or because of any prejudice against the coaching staff, but because he lost his position by chance. The incident happened to Van Hoan from the match against XMXT SG in round 5. At that time, the SLNA coaching staff realized that the foreign striker of the away team was quite big and had a great advantage in cross-header attacks, so the coaching staff decided to replace Van Hoan, who was only 1m61 tall, with the younger and taller defender Dinh Hoang to counter the opponent's crosses.

After this match, Dinh Hoang became coach Huu Thang's first choice for the right-back position every time he registered the roster for SLNA. This is also the reality at SLNA when the next wave pushes the previous wave, the bamboo is not yet old, the young shoots have already grown. Au Van Hoan had to accept sitting on the bench for his juniors. Realizing that, Van Hoan is practicing very actively in the hope of regaining his position. There is a good word of mouth story at SLNA, that is, Van Hoan practices like "possessed", and he even ends his vacation (mid-season) earlier than his teammates to practice with the youth team.

Affirming a name at the recruitment level

When asked about his achievements in the SLNA youth team, Van Hoan innocently shared: “To be honest, I don’t remember how many times I have won the “U-age” championship. Since joining the SLNA youth team, every year I played, I won the championship.”

Born in 1989, the youngest among his teammates of the same generation such as Trong Hoang, Quang Tinh, Dinh Dong, Van Binh, but Au Van Hoan still has a very good foundation. Promoted to the SLNA first team in 2007 (when he was only 18 years old) and immediately won the starting position as a right-back. This is another rare exception in the history of the Nghe An team. The experience of training with his seniors, as well as the V-League atmosphere, helped Hoan accumulate top-notch football skills. Hoan has been constantly improving, thanks to the resilience of youth and a serious sense of responsibility towards his profession.

At the age of 14, Hoan was first called up to the national U15 team to compete in Thailand. But perhaps the path to affirming his name at the national team level must be counted in 2009, after the U21 National Finals - Thanh Nien Newspaper Cup 2009 in Binh Duong, Van Hoan was one of two young faces recommended for U23 Vietnam, participating in the 25th SEA Games in Laos with Dinh Dong. Of course, when put on the scale, Dong was much heavier than Hoan, because even in the SLNA shirt at that time, Van Hoan was only a reserve player. The first year Van Hoan joined the national team, he accepted the status of "a substitute". There was nothing to be sad about, because Van Hoan understood that his time had not come yet. And after only 2 years from the first days wearing the national team shirt, Van Hoan became more and more mature and quickly took the right-back position in SLNA and the national team level. A steady progression but the result of months of tireless training.

Family is a solid support

With a bright, humorous face and a smile always on his lips, Hoan “cut” has been nailed with the name “the boy with a smiling face”. But few people know that to have this day, Hoan has a strong support system behind him, always cheering and encouraging him, that is his family.

Au Van Hoan (2nd from left) and his friends in the neighborhood go to the fields to catch crabs and fish.

Hoan's father said that Hoan used all the salary he saved from playing football to build his parents a new house. When you get to Hamlet 7, Hung Chau Commune (Hung Nguyen), if you ask Au Van Hoan, everyone will know. Finding the house is even easier, just cross the small road where there is an old banyan tree next to the field, and if you see a very beautiful house, that is the house of defender Au Van Hoan.

Not only in the countryside, but now, whenever Hoan steps out onto the street, people immediately exclaim: “There’s Au Van Hoan.” Especially for teenage girls in Vinh City, Hoan is an idol that they can’t help but ask for his autograph or take a picture of whenever they see him on the street or in a coffee shop. Au Van Hoan has affirmed himself like that.

Ngoc Minh