Ho Van Cuong from his first stumble to U17 SLNA champion

Coming out of the disciplinary sentence, now Cuong is practicing hard every day to prove that he is a player with good professional skills and ethics to deserve to be in the first team of the team.SLNA.

Ho Van Cuong played enthusiastically, neutralizing many attacks from foreign players in the internal match at SLNA. Photo: Duc Anh

Stepping out of mistakes

Born in Hoang Mai town, at the age of 10, Ho Van Cuong played football for Quynh Tan Secondary School. At that time, although he was small, he soon revealed his innate talent. Coach Nguyen Hai of the Quynh Luu District Culture and Sports Center came to witness Cuong's competition and praised him and wanted him to practice in the district's gifted class. At that time, although he was young, Cuong was passionate about the king of sports. "Except when I was studying, my mind was always thinking about the ball, and at night I dreamed of playing football. I wished that one day I would be in the Vietnam National Team," Cuong said.

Realizing his love for football, Cuong's parents did not mind the distance to take Cuong from home to the training place with a distance of more than 20 km so that their son could satisfy his passion. Because of his outstanding performance, Mr. Hai - the gifted class coach introduced him to the SLNA training center. However, with his small body, Cuong did not catch the eye of the SLNA scouts at that time. Not discouraged, Cuong still nurtured his dream of becoming a professional player. He was introduced to the PVF training center by the coach of the Quynh Luu gifted football class. Fortunately, Cuong was accepted by the scouts here. Cuong shared: "That day was truly an unforgettable day for me. I couldn't sleep at night, I just wanted the morning to come quickly so I could practice."

Ho Van Cuong always completes well the training plans set out by SLNA's coaching staff. Photo: Duc Anh

During the training process, Cuong always showed his qualities. The coach tried him in a few positions on the field, and in every position, Cuong performed his role well. But the position that left the most impression on Cuong was right fullback. Cuong is a small player but has speed, technique, and intelligence. Therefore, in PVF's matches, the wing is always the main attacking point that the coach uses the most.

With what he showed, he was called by the coach of the Vietnam U16 National Team to join the team. Here, he played in his favorite position, right back. Although the Vietnam U16 team did not play successfully that year, Ho Van Cuong played quite energetically. He always created confidence whether defending or participating in the attack.

But this time, Ho Van Cuong had a turning point in his career as a player. Cuong was disciplined by the head coach of the U16 National Team, expelled from the team, and sent a letter to the PVF team requesting discipline and having his contract terminated. Talking about this incident, Cuong said: “At that time, I was still young so I was foolish. I texted in a private group with some friends in the U16 National Team to tease the coach, unfortunately the message was leaked and I was disciplined by the coach. That is a lesson that I will never forget in my life.”

In desperation, Cuong was like "catching a stake", he was introduced by PVF coach to SLNA club. After the trial period, Cuong was evaluated by SLNA coach as a player with professional qualifications and suitable for SLNA. In just a short time training with the new team, Cuong always received praise from his teammates for his will to train as well as his football technique. In 2020, when the National U17 team started, Cuong was a mainstay in the SLNA U17 squad. He is the player that the coach always prioritized to play in the starting lineup. In this tournament, Cuong showed his intelligent playing qualities, tactical vision, and basic techniques. Cuong was the one who always ignited dangerous attacks on the right wing.

In the National U17 final, Cuong was the main player contributing to the victory of U17 SLNA. He scored the first goal of the final and assisted his teammates to score. “This is my first important tournament for SLNA. I overcame my own mentality to play aggressively and passionately and received sweet results for the team. I have partly fulfilled the expectations that the teachers at SLNA were waiting for,” Cuong recalled.

With his contributions to U17, Cuong was promoted to U21 SLNA to play in the 2021 National U21 tournament when he was only 18 years old. In this tournament, Cuong once again demonstrated his mettle and level. He and U21 SLNA won the 2021 National U21 Silver Medal.

Ho Van Cuong is a promising player, he will go far in the future. Photo: Duc Anh

Dreams gradually come true

After the new SLNA coaching board was established, there were many reforms in the Nghe An team. Players who were not suitable and did not have enough professional qualifications were released. Along with that, the head coach will choose capable players to build a team with depth in the squad and create a solid foundation for the future. To meet this task, the new SLNA coaching board called 5 names from the SLNA youth team to play for the first team, among the 5 players is Ho Van Cuong.

When he joined the first team, Cuong was assigned by the coach to play his favorite position as right back. “The first few days when I joined the first team, I felt overwhelmed and a bit scared. Because the level of expertise of the seniors in the SLNA team was very good, very different from the U team. They had fought a lot, their football skills had been perfected, so I was a bit lacking in confidence when facing the seniors,” Cuong confided.

After the initial days of confusion, Cuong gradually regained his confidence. In SLNA's internal match, Ho Van Cuong and Dinh Xuan Tien were chosen to play with their seniors. Cuong was assigned to take on the role of right-back. Although small, with his speed and appropriate closing technique, Cuong neutralized many dangerous passes from foreign players such as Olaha or Peter. Also in this match, with Cuong's smart touches, he launched many good attacks.

Cuong shared: “Playing for the first team is my dream. My dream since I was little was to play for SLNA, now that has gradually become a reality, I will try my best every day so that in the near future I will be in the starting lineup of SLNA”.

Talking about the turning point in his football career when he moved from PVF to SLNA, Ho Van Cuong shared: “There was a time when I thought my football career was over. However, it was this turning point that brought me to my hometown team, winning titles that many players desire. I feel very lucky and thank the teachers at SLNA for giving me the opportunity to live my passion.”

Although the road ahead is still very long for Ho Van Cuong. He will still have to continue to practice diligently and improve himself. But I am confident that with his passion, qualities and desire to learn in life, Ho Van Cuong will be a player who will reap many successes in the future.