Ho Van Cuong and his impressions after the National U19 Tournament

With constant efforts, Ho Van Cuong has made great strides through each tournament. Photo: Hai Hoang

Future Star

Although U19SLNAonly ranked 3rd overall atNational U19 Tournament2022 but it must be said that the players of Nghe An Club this year are quite even. Besides, there are some players who promise to be the stars of Vietnamese football in the future. These include Dinh Xuan Tien, Phan Xuan Dai, Nguyen Van Bach, Nguyen Canh Tiep and especially midfielderHo Van Cuong.

Recently, fans have been paying more attention to the performance of "child prodigy" Dinh Xuan Tien. But this year's tournament, the one who left the clearest impression in the playing style of U19 SLNA was Ho Van Cuong. With two titles of best player voted in the two matches against Dong Thap and Binh Dinh, it can be said that the talent as well as the great contribution of this midfielder wearing the number 19 shirt to the playing style of the Nghe team.

Ho Van Cuong won the title of best player of the match twice at the National U19 Tournament. Photo: Hai Hoang

Looking back at the first match of the 2022 National U19 Finals, between U19 SLNA and U19 Dong Thap, midfielder Ho Van Cuong played extremely impressively. Although small, when coach Dinh Van Dung arranged him to play in his favorite position as a right winger, the player from Hoang Mai showed his ability to make a big difference in the opponent's goal. With his speed, technique, and good tactical vision, the striker born in 2003 made Dong Thap's defense struggle many times. The only goal in the 15th minute of the match was greatly contributed by Cuong. That was the situation where the player wearing the number 19 shirt took a tricky free kick that hit Dong Thap's crossbar, Phan Duy Hao was there at the right time to score for U.19 SLNA. For the rest of the match, the audience witnessed the "attacking left and right" of this small midfielder. When he was constantly present at hot spots to make a difference from the rest. That impressive performance helped Ho Van Cuong be voted by the Organizing Committee as the best player of the match. Not stopping there, in the match against U19 Binh Dinh, the player born in 2003 continued to be voted as the best player of the match. This is an achievement that no player from any other team can do in this year's tournament. Although U19 SLNA could not change the color of the medal, Ho Van Cuong's brilliance is undeniable. Because of that prominence, the midfielder wearing the number 19 shirt is the only player of the yellow shirt team to be voted into the squad of 11 typical players of the 2022 National U19 Tournament.

Ho Van Cuong shared: “The news of being voted into the typical squad made me quite surprised. However, with the trust of the coaching staff, teammates and my own efforts, this recognition will be the motivation for me to continue to strive on the journey to my higher goals in the future. Entering this year's tournament, I have a quite confident mentality. Because before that, I had the opportunity to try my hand at many different fronts, such as being in the SLNA first team or being a midfielder in the U23 Vietnam team. This has helped me mature a lot in both expertise and competition mentality. This is the first tournament where I have officially played on the field and played a full 90 minutes. It will help me mature more. My immediate goal is to continue to strive to be in the U19 Vietnam team to participate in the upcoming international tournament.”

Will brings success

In the 2020 National U17 Championship, Ho Van Cuong shone when he was placed in the right-back position. Although he did not have an ideal appearance, the player from Hoang Mai had a pretty good performance. He not only fulfilled his defensive duties, but also frequently joined the attack. The presence of this player helped the right wing of U17 SLNA attack more diversely. Remember in the final match of the National U17 Championship that year, Cuong was the main player contributing to the victory of U17 SLNA. He was both the player who put his name on the scoreboard and the one who created goals for his teammates. With that significant contribution, U17 Nghe An became the champion of the 2020 National U17 Championship.

With his unceasing will to strive, Cuong was brought up to train by the SLNA first team's coaching staff. Playing at a high level with his seniors has helped the 2023-born player progress quite quickly. "Playing in a professional environment has helped me a lot. The determination and harshness in every situation on the field seems to have trained me more skills in mastering the ball," Cuong shared.

Ho Van Cuong is always present at the hot spots that U19 SLNA creates on the opponent's field. Photo: Hai Hoang

The appearance of Ho Van Cuong in tournaments from youth level at SLNA and V.League has helped this player be present in the Vietnam U23 team to participate in the Southeast Asian U23 Tournament.

Due to the impact of the epidemic, Ho Van Cuong only had 30 minutes on the field in the U23 Vietnam team. But in those short 30 minutes, Cuong left a great impression in the eyes of experts. In the middle of the second half, the midfielder from Hoang Mai had a speedy breakthrough on the right wing before passing to his teammate to face the goalkeeper. But unfortunately, Nguyen Hoang missed it quite regrettably. With the ability to perform well in both roles, both making counter-attacks and ensuring defense, Ho Van Cuong helped U23 Vietnam win the U23 Southeast Asian Championship.

Cuong confided: “This tournament is probably the most memorable tournament in my entire football career. Before the tournament, I was very excited to wait for the match day, but unfortunately I contracted Covid and had to be quarantined in the hotel for 9 days. This was a very sad time, because I could not compete, and my physical condition was tired. Luckily, I recovered in time to be present in the final match. Being able to play in that match brought me great happiness. Although my physical strength was not guaranteed at that time, and my performance was not as expected, being part of the team was a great honor for me personally. I will always remember this historic tournament, it is a beautiful memory in my professional football career.”

After recent progress and especially his brilliance in the 2022 National U19 tournament, Ho Van Cuong promises to be one of the players worth watching in upcoming tournaments. The U19 SLNA coaching staff shared: "We highly appreciate Cuong's contributions to U19 SLNA in this year's tournament. With his efforts and constant learning, we believe he will go far in the future."