Ngo Quang Truong - steel warrior of Song Lam Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - In the history of SLNA, Ngo Quang Truong is known by the nickname Truong "buffalo" thanks to his abundant physical strength and fierce playing style. But only those who have watched him play can see that he is also a midfielder who "plays football with his head".
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| Graphics: Trung Kien |
Song Lam Nghe An has always been known as a team that produces players with a fiery and fierce playing style. Ngo Quang Truong's generation inherits that spirit and they are also the symbol of the warrior-like playing style.
Quang Truong is one of the outstanding factors, at the same time as Huu Thang, Van Luu, Thanh Tuan, Van Tien, Sy Hung... who dominated Vietnamese football. During the 6-year period of SLNA's undefeated run at "Thanh Vinh Fire Pan" from 1996-2002, Quang Truong was the one who wore the captain's armband.
“I used to feel very uncomfortable because I was called Truong “buffalo”, because playing football requires more than just physical strength. But anyway, being known, remembered and loved by everyone is also a happiness.”
University failure and turning point in life
Quang Truong was born in 1972 in Hung Nguyen. He is related to Mr. Ngo Xuan Quynh, a giant of Vietnamese football, a famous player in the early period of The Cong Club. Since childhood, Quang Truong had the talent and passion for football.
After failing out of college, Quang Truong found joy in football again. Only familiar with football matches that made him forget his school hours on the dike, Quang Truong first participated in the Hung Nguyen district collective football tournament when he had just graduated from high school. Playing impressively, a teacher introduced Quang Truong to SLNA for a trial.
Without any formal training, Quang Truong was recruited directly into the SLNA first team thanks to his organizational ability, "nose for goals" and most importantly, his strong physical foundation.
From an amateur to a professional player, Quang Truong encountered many difficulties because of his inferior technical skills compared to his teammates. But thanks to his physical strength and diligence, he soon filled those gaps.
His iron will and fiery training and competition style helped Quang Truong build his name with SLNA. In 2001, Vietnamese football officially became professional, SLNA won the first V.League championship and Quang Truong was the captain of SLNA at that time.
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| Ngo Quang Truong in SLNA shirt. Photo: Quang Minh |
At that time, The Cong had a long tradition and a playing style that bore the mark of technique and tactics. As for CA TP Ho Chi Minh, according to Quang Truong, was a strange team in football, or Cong An Ha Noi was also a formidable team. As for SLNA, they used physical and mental strength as their strength.
“When I was a young player and watched Quang Truong play with The Cong, he was the center of every attack. When Quang Truong had the ball, the satellites around him rushed in the direction of Quang Truong’s movement. He was like a warrior on the field” - Former center back Nguyen Huy Hoang said.
Quang Truong's leadership qualities and coolness on the football field are not only shown through his passes and goals, but also through his fiery... head.
In the fierce match between SLNA and The Cong at Vinh Stadium in 1998, in the last minute of the match, in a chaotic situation in front of the away team's goal, Hai Bien grabbed the hair of an SLNA player. Immediately, the head of leader Quang Truong could no longer keep calm, the SLNA captain threw a very strong punch to the opponent's face, causing him to be suspended for 6 matches.
Long after, people still often talk about Quang Truong's fist and the overly fierce matches between The Cong and SLNA.
Unhealthy legs
Because of his fierce and passionate playing style, Quang Truong had to pay the price of serious injuries. Later, every time the weather changed, his knees would ache from the injuries he had sustained while playing.
In 1992, when SLNA played against the Vietnam Railways team in Hue, in slippery field conditions, a fierce dispute with the opponent caused him to dislocate his knee joint, causing all the ligaments to rupture. At that time, medical work and science were not as advanced as they are now, so Quang Truong only received first aid and bandages but did not undergo surgery.
After 4 months of “lying on thorns and tasting gall”, Quang Truong put on his shoes and went to the training ground because he missed the ball, but as soon as he ran on the field, his knee joint burst. Unable to bear seeing his student in pain, Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh decided to let Quang Truong take a break from playing football for a while. The second and third times were the same, and the fourth time the injury recurred, Coach Thanh Vinh advised Quang Truong to retire from the field early to pursue a coaching career.
But like a miracle, after 3 years since that very serious injury, Quang Truong returned to playing at the top level normally without any surgery.
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| Quang Truong's mark when he played for SLNA was very strong. Photo: Quang Minh |
At SLNA, Quang Truong's position was untouchable, he was called up to the Vietnam National Team to prepare for major campaigns of Vietnamese football. However, in the context of Vietnamese football still having many shortcomings, and with his quiet, reserved personality, Quang Truong was not known by many people. One of Quang Truong's first achievements in the national team was the Silver Medal of the 1996 Tiger Cup in Malaysia.
In 2004, at the age of 32, many people thought that Quang Truong was “out of date”, but he was recruited by Hoang Anh Gia Lai from SLNA on a secondment. On the other side of his career, Quang Truong still left a strong mark on the mountain town team, lifting the V.League Championship Cup that year.
The mark of being a teacher
After retiring, Quang Truong invested in learning to be a coach since 2008 and started training youth at SLNA.
Right when he led U17 SLNA to attend the 2012 National U17 Finals in Hue, he and his students Van Khanh, Tuan Tai, Van Duc, Xuan Manh won the championship. That was also the only U17 championship of SLNA since 2009 until now.
In 2014, he and U19 SLNA won the National Silver Medal. And the faces he took care of in the past are now the pillars of SLNA as well as the Vietnam National Team.
At the end of 2014, when coach Huu Thang suddenly left SLNA, Quang Truong was chosen to steer the Nghe An ship in V.League. Just a few months after taking over the first team, Quang Truong and the first team of SLNA won the National Sports Festival championship.
In V.League 2015, there were many times when SLNA was in the top group of the rankings, but then the departure of key players such as Quang Tinh, Hoang Thinh, Dinh Dong and low-quality foreign players caused SLNA to sink deeper in V.League 2016.
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| Coach Ngo Quang Truong is currently the Technical Director of Hai Phong Club. Photo: VTC |
In the midst of a fierce race like V.League, Coach Quang Truong repeatedly requested to resign from the position of head coach. But the leaders and players all wanted him to continue to steer the team through the current difficulties, until Coach Duc Thang agreed to become the head coach of SLNA.
During 2 years as a coach at V.League, Quang Truong's hair has turned grayer and grayer, but in return, it has also helped him gain valuable experience in football management.
Returning to youth training, taking over the SLNA U15 team, Quang Truong continued to study to improve his qualifications and qualifications. After obtaining the AFC Pro professional coaching certificate, the former SLNA head coach was invited by Hai Phong Club to work as a technical director.
In Hai Phong at this time, Quang Truong and his former teammate in the national team, Truong Viet Hoang, are fighting with Hai Phong in V.League 2019. The Hai Phong team with many players from SLNA as well as quality foreign players is a force in the domestic league.
In round 9 of V.League, when SLNA visits Hai Phong, SLNA players will meet their old coach again. And for Quang Truong, it will definitely be a match with special emotions.
In the history of SLNA football team, Quang Truong contributed to making the name of the team and SLNA also created a famous player, a spiritual symbol of the Nghe An football team. And now, Quang Truong along with his teammates of the same era such as Huu Thang, Sy Son, Thanh Cong, Duc Thang are an indispensable part of the V.League playground on the coaching bench./.
Coach Quang Truong and SLNA goalkeeper leave on secondment
(Baonghean.vn) - A few days ago, Coach Ngo Quang Truong arrived in Hai Phong to take up a new job. That is the position of Technical Director of Hai Phong Club.
