Defender Tran Dinh Dong: 'I want to retire in SLNA's shirt'

Returning to Vinh Stadium from Thanh Hoa at the beginning of this season, it did not take long for Tran Dinh Dong to prove his ability in the Vinh Stadium team. After just a few training sessions, the former right-back of the Vietnam National Team at the AFF Cup 2016 won the trust of the SLNA coaching staff. With his inherent class, the player wearing the number 16 shirt was always used by coach Nguyen Duc Thang in the left-back position, even when national team player Pham Xuan Manh had fully recovered from injury.

The ball fight between Tran Dinh Dong and Nghiem Xuan Tu of Than Quang Ninh. Photo: VPF

According to statistics, in the 2019 season, Tran Dinh Dong was one of the players with the most matches played by SLNA (25 matches). The achievement of conceding the fewest goals in V.League 2019 of the Nghe An team (26 goals) was largely due to the contribution of defender Anh Son. Not only did he excel in his defensive duties, Tran Dinh Dong also played a good supporting role in the attack. The assist that helped Memovic head the ball into the net of Quang Nam in the 1/8 round of the 2019 National Cup is a typical example.

There is a very remarkable detail, that the playing style of the former U23 Vietnam player has evolved unexpectedly. No longer a player with excessively fierce tackles, Tran Dinh Dong has handled situations delicately in blocking opposing players. Based on the number of yellow cards that the former Thanh Hoa defender received in V.League 2019 (1 yellow card), it is clear. It is not wrong to say that Tran Dinh Dong is "the older the ginger, the spicier it is".

Many players will no longer wear the SLNA shirt in the 2020 season. Photo courtesy

At this time, the English player Son is one of 14 players whose contracts with SLNA have expired. It is known that most of them will leave Vinh Stadium to join other teams. SLNA is facing the biggest "player loss" ever. Veteran players like Tran Dinh Dong, Hoang Van Binh or Nguyen Quang Tinh will be a solid support for young players, in case they are assigned by SLNA to guide their juniors next season.

Revealing his future to Nghe An Newspaper, Tran Dinh Dong affirmed: “I still don’t know whether SLNA will retain me for the 2020 season or not, but my biggest wish is to retire in the jersey of my hometown team. If the Board of Directors asks me to sign a new contract, I will not refuse. I would also like to inform everyone that I have registered for the C-license coaching course organized by AFC.”

Let's wait and see, where will Tran Dinh Dong's future go?