Ho Khac Ngoc: Starting a new journey

Efforts have been recognized

The name Ho Khac Ngoc is both familiar and strange to Vietnamese football fans. Familiar because, for those who regularly follow V.League in recent years, it is impossible not to know the midfielder of SLNA. Strange because, this is only the first time the player born in 1992 has had the honor of participating in the Vietnam National Team. This achievement is a reward for the tireless efforts of the midfielder nicknamed "Fabregas of Nghe An".

Coach Park Hang Seo's decision to call Ho Khac Ngoc up to the national team received the absolute approval of experts and fans. Last season, the player wearing the number 12 shirt of SLNA played extremely well in both the V.League and the National Cup (SLNA won the championship). The clearest proof of Ho Khac Ngoc's talent and importance to the Nghe An team is the number 1 position in the list of "Top 7 best central midfielders of V.League 2017" by the statistics site Instar.

Ho Khac Ngoc is in good form for SLNA. Photo: Archive

Entering the 2018 season, Ho Khac Ngoc still maintained his impressive and stable performance, even though his most compatible partner in SLNA's attack, Tran Phi Son, had transferred to Ho Chi Minh City Club. Witnessing Ho Khac Ngoc's excellent performances in the AFC Cup group stage, the Asian version of Goal.com voted him "Best Asian Player of February 2018".

So, after nearly 4 years since coach Miura named him in the list of the Vietnam U23 team to prepare for the 17th Asian Games in 2014, the 26-year-old midfielder has another chance to "eat national team food". Everyone is waiting for his debut in the Vietnam national team shirt.

Avoid making the same mistake

However, in all areas of life, glory is always associated with challenges. The dream of wearing the Vietnamese national team jersey has become a reality for Ho Khac Ngoc, the immediate task of this player is to demonstrate his true potential, to be worthy of the trust of coach Park Hang Seo, experts and fans for him.

In the past, there were many players who played excellently at their clubs, but were disappointing when they were called up to the national team. Former midfielder and captain of SLNA in the late 90s and early 2000s, Ngo Quang Truong, is a typical example. At that time, the player nicknamed Truong “buffalo” was considered one of the best left wing midfielders in Vietnamese football. Ngo Quang Truong’s talent and importance to SLNA in the past were not inferior to his junior Ho Khac Ngoc at present.

Ho Khac Ngoc is a player discovered from the Youth - Children's Football Tournament of Nghe An Newspaper Cup.

The achievements that the Nghe An team won (national championship/V.League in 2000 and 2001...) were largely due to Ngo Quang Truong. Unfortunately, when playing for the Vietnam National Team at the 1997 SEA Games, Tiger Cup 2002 and Tiger 2004, Ngo Quang Truong did not leave any significant mark. To this day, people still have not answered the question: "Why did Ngo Quang Truong play so poorly for the Vietnam National Team?".

We know that all comparisons are lame. But anyway, the case of senior Ngo Quang Truong is also a valuable reminder for Ho Khac Ngoc and many other players. The midfielder wearing the number 12 shirt of SLNA has also experienced terrible situations over the past 6 years. A typical example is the time when the U23 Vietnam team was eliminated from the list of participants in the 17th Asian Games nearly 4 years ago.

Being called up to the national team is just the beginning of Ho Khac Ngoc's career. If he cannot prove his talent and integrate well into the new environment, the player born in 1992 will hardly be able to compete with his teammates playing in the same position./.