Veteran Nguyen Minh Duc has no intention of retiring.

(Baonghean.vn) - At the age of 34, 35, not many players can still play professionally, but with center back Nguyen Minh Duc being a rare case, the former captain of the national team still does not want to stop.

In V.League 2017, Nguyen Minh Duc played 9 matches for SLNA then got injured. When he returned, the player born in 1983 had to give way to the young, talented and stable central defender pair Hoang Van Khanh - Que Ngoc Hai.

Center back Nguyen Minh Duc is still energetic and eager to compete at the highest level. Photo: Trung Kien

Ending the season with the National Cup championship with SLNA, everyone thought that center back Minh Duc would retire. Banners of gratitude to Van Vinh and Minh Duc were hung by Nghe An fans in the final matches. However, only midfielder Nguyen Van Vinh intended to hang up his boots and the match against B. Binh Duong in the National Cup final was the veteran's last match.

Last year, many people also thought that the player from Hung Nguyen would hang up his boots to end his rather massive playing career. However, refusing all calls from other clubs, Minh Duc and SLNA leaders found a common voice to stay at SLNA for another year.

Talking about the future, center back Minh Duc happily shared: “This is the third year people think I’m retiring. However, at this time I haven’t decided whether to continue playing at the top level or retire because I still have the passion.”

On the other side of his career, Nguyen Minh Duc still makes many strikers in V.League frustrated because of his intelligent playing style and effective experience. Currently, the 2008 AFF Cup champion has obtained a B-certificate coaching certificate issued by the Asian Football Confederation. It is very likely that in the near future, he will continue to work hard and compete in V.League before thinking about retiring, becoming a coach or investing in his current business./.

Trung Kien