The ups and downs of "goalkeeper"

(Baonghean) - With a height of over 1m80, besides good reflexes, Nguyen Viet Nam possesses all the qualities to become a good goalkeeper. However, with time and behind-the-scenes stories, Nam has had little luck and in recent seasons, he has had to "wear out his pants" on the bench. Even after saying goodbye to Thanh Hoa in the 2014 season, Viet Nam could not find a team to continue his career...

Goalkeeper Viet Nam in SLNA shirt.

Nguyen Viet Nam (born in 1985) in Van Dien commune, Nam Dan district. Passionate about football, after being introduced by a friend, in 1999, Nam attended the Song Lam "furnace" in a selection for the goalkeeper position. To be retained, Viet Nam had to go through a test with 8 other opponents. At that time, the Song Lam "furnace" was very famous and Nam had to make a lot of effort for his initial goal. After 3 years of testing, Nam excelled over 8 other opponents to win the official goalkeeper position in the U.18 SLNA shirt.

At the national championship for the 18-year-old group that year, Nam quickly showed himself and not long after that, in the 2003 V.League season, he became a reserve goalkeeper for Duong Hong Son in the SLNA first team. But unfortunately for Nam, at this time the club was in crisis, many behind-the-scenes problems arose, so the team's leadership decided to send Viet Nam to Khanh Hoa, hoping that he would mature faster, and at the same time reduce some of the cost of raising the team.

However, the new environment was not as Nam expected, and only a short time later he returned to Nghe An. Although assigned to train with the SLNA youth team, Nam still persevered in training and competing. Thanks to his success in the national U.19 and U.21 tournaments, Nam's name gradually entered the memory of Nghe An fans and the whole country. During some national Olympic team training sessions, Viet Nam was also called up and somewhat demonstrated his ability. But unfortunately, consecutive injuries caused Nam to regrettably miss the opportunity to participate in major tournaments.

After the 2008 V.League season, SLNA faced a "brain drain" of talent. Among those who left was the excellent goalkeeper Duong Hong Son. For Viet Nam personally, this was an opportunity for him to prove himself. Becoming the number 1 goalkeeper at SLNA after many years of "polishing the bench", Nam was determined to help Nghe An fans forget the image of Hong Son and was full of confidence that he would join SLNA in conquering higher goals in the V.League arena. However, before he could be happy with the number 1 position in the goal, Viet Nam gradually felt the stormy, bitter journey of the "goalkeeper" position.

In the match at Hang Day Stadium of V.League in 2008, this goalkeeper was accused of playing dishonestly in the match between SLNA and HN.ACB, causing strong public opposition. Viet Nam had to receive a penalty from VFF, and even SLNA's leadership took strong action against him and those involved. Nam was quiet and full of integrity, but when he was criticized unfairly, he was forced to speak up. But the injustice did not go unanswered, Viet Nam and Dinh Dong, 2 of the 4 people with negative signs, were once again pushed down to the youth team for training.

After a season full of upheavals at his hometown team, Viet Nam decided to leave and HP.HN was his destination. Playing here for a while, his homesickness and desire to return to Nghe An arose, urging Viet Nam to return. Signing a 3-year contract with SLNA for 4.5 billion VND, Viet Nam also became the official goalkeeper of the Vinh Stadium team, replacing Quoc Cuong. After completing the contract with his hometown team, Nam immediately searched for and bought a piece of land in Vinh, preparing to bring his wife and children from Hanoi to live in his hometown.

But man proposes, God disposes. After an initial period of being inviolable in terms of position, Viet Nam gradually lost his role, when Nguyen Manh began to show his ability and fiercely competed for the number 1 position in goal. At the end of V.League 2012, Viet Nam only played a reserve role for Nguyen Manh.

In the 2014 season, Viet Nam joined Thanh Hoa and thought he would escape the obsession of being a reserve player. However, when the season officially started, the coaching board of the Thanh Hoa team chose Vinh Loi, not Viet Nam, for the number 1 position. He only played 1-2 times during the season, so he could not avoid being frustrated and at the end of the season, although Mr. De wanted to continue to extend the contract, Viet Nam refused.

He is free to contact a new team, but in the current difficult situation of clubs, not many places can meet the requirements of this goalkeeper from Nghe An. Therefore, by the time of closing the registration list for the 2015 season, Viet Nam was still not on the payroll of any team.

Unemployed and facing many risks, the tragedy for Viet Nam was even greater when he had to retire early.

Vinh Liem