Ngo Xuan Quynh - famous star from Nghe An!

Some current Nghe An military leaders.

However, difficulties are "standing tall" like high mountains in front of them, forcing them to work hard, to learn a lot from practice, from their predecessors, first of all from the famous people of Nghe An in the history of national football.

One of those predecessors is player Ngo Xuan Quynh, who passionately played football from Hung Nguyen, from Thanh Vinh... and then spread to The Cong, to the whole country and the world, becoming a "living dictionary of Vietnamese football".

The press wrote a lot about the event in 1967, when he was assigned to lead the Vietnamese football team to train in North Korea, the son of Nghe An who was assigned to be the head of the team, Ngo Xuan Quynh, made a very famous statement: "We will compete at Ong Thuong Garden Stadium in the middle of liberated Saigon!"

Football star Ngo Xuan Quynh.

That is the aspiration for peace of the whole nation, of the soldiers, of the players wearing soldier's uniforms! That story shows that when the aspiration of the soldiers-playing-soccer blends with the aspiration of everyone, success will surely come.

As one of the first players (1954) of The Cong, once voted as "1 of 11 typical players" (1958), Ngo Xuan Quynh, when taking on the leadership and management duties of The Cong, always brought this team to the number 1 position in the country's football at that time. He firmly affirmed that "The Cong players must be masters in terms of expertise, must wear the rank of lieutenant in terms of military, and must have completed high school in terms of culture"!

That is a very high and comprehensive requirement, talent and virtue go together, it is the courage and will of the person who creates victory, of those who always strive to become number 1 and then even more difficult is to maintain the number 1 position!

Mr. Ngo Xuan Quynh is called the living dictionary of Vietnamese football.

In the two football seasons of 1980 and 1981, The Cong played poorly in the first phase, Ngo Xuan Quynh entered the battle again, "held" and revived the team and he immediately brought the team back to its original orbit. In front of the team, as in front of a neat army, Ngo Xuan Quynh read the call to arms that excited the soldiers (later considered as "Football Proclamation"): "Hey team! Raise your will/ Bring your pure heart to win glory/ To have today, our seniors have shed so much sweat... and blood/ We, the descendants- are determined to follow the example of our seniors..."*!

That is the courage to overcome difficulties of a military leader, a strict commander, but also a gentle and skillful politician to encourage spirit, enhance individual and collective will, unanimously overcome thorny challenges, and reach victory.

In 1985, the National Children's Football Tournament was first launched. Ngo Xuan Quynh was the one who researched, issued and had the right to decide on related issues such as regulations, competition rules, fields, number of participating players... He was a pioneer, opening up a large space for grassroots football and youth football.

And it would not be an exaggeration to say that the success that Vietnamese football has achieved today stems from the contributions of many people yesterday, including the role of Mr. Ngo Xuan Quynh, when he was a player, then a coach, head of delegation and important roles in the Vietnam Football Federation.

So, difficulties and hardships are always present and in any situation, any mission, soldiers like Ngo Xuan Quynh always promote the noble qualities and bravery of Nghe people. That is, always uphold the aspiration to strive, always strive to be number 1 and must maintain the number 1 position, always be flexible, clever, always innovate and be creative.

Coach Ngo Quang Truong is breathing new life into SLNA. Photo: Huu Thanh

Today's Nghe An military leaders, Quang Truong, Huy Hoang, Van Quyen, Nhu Thuat, Quoc Vuong... are on different fronts, facing different difficulties and advantages, but let's be of one mind, one direction, learn to be creative like Ngo Xuan Quynh and many others, like his "proclamation" of years ago still echoes forever "We, the descendants - are determined to follow the example of our predecessors"!