AFF Cup 2008 hero Duong Hong Son pursues coaching career

(Baonghean.vn) - 8 years ago, Duong Hong Son became the hero of the Vietnam National Team at the AFF Cup 2008. At present, the former goalkeeper from Nghe An is busy with the coaching course of the Asian Football Confederation, gradually consolidating his career as a coach.

Born in 1982 in a working-class family in Cau Giat, Quynh Luu, Duong Hong Son had a chance to join SLNA after just one match between Quynh Luu Youth Team and SLNA Youth Team in 1995. After being a member of the Nghe An team, the boy, along with players Phan Thanh Hoan, Chu Ngoc Canh, Nguyen Cong Manh... continuously won the national U14 and national U16 championships.

When he was still in the U16 Vietnam team, there was a time when coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh had to put Hong Son in the position of center back and defender because of his small stature.

However, coach Nguyen Hong Thanh still believes in the success of a goalkeeper with limited height and physique like Hong Son and brought him back to the goalkeeper position.

Vietnamese football fans still cannot forget the mark and role of goalkeeper Duong Hong Son in the national team's goal at the AFF Cup 2008.

Winning the national U18 tournament in 1998 with Huy Hoang, Thanh Hoan, Hai Nam..., 3 years later Duong Hong Son was officially promoted to the SLNA first team. This goalkeeper's success in the youth arena did not stop when he and the SLNA U21 team won consecutive championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

But it was not until goalkeeper The Anh left Vinh Stadium in 2004 that Duong Hong Son truly asserted his talent and courage in the SLNA goal with excellent matches that made SLNA's coaching staff and fans extremely confident.

However, after a few years of hardship and not much contribution to his hometown team, Hong Son refused Hai Phong Cement to join Hanoi T&T in early 2008. Since then, Hong Son has always been a reliable stopper for this team for the past 8 years, helping them win the V.League twice in the 2010 and 2013 seasons.

In the 2015 V-League season, despite being 33 years old, Hong Son still played almost the entire first leg before giving way to young goalkeepers like Anh Duc and Minh Long in the later stages.

At the national team level, Duong Hong Son played an important role in the historic championship of the Vietnam National Team at the AFF Cup 2008 with many miraculous saves, the tournament in which he was awarded the title of best player of the tournament. The performance of the goalkeeper from Nghe An at the regional tournament was completely convincing, he was voted the Golden Ball of Vietnam 2008 and entered the Top 10 best goalkeepers in Asia.

That is enough for Duong Hong Son to be always remembered and considered one of the legendary goalkeepers of Vietnamese football.

Earlier this year, although the contract between Hong Son and Hanoi T&T Club still had one more year to expire. However, after a period of consideration, the goalkeeper born in 1982 decided to retire to take on the position of goalkeeper coach at the Hanoi T&T U19 team. Before that, Son "mountainous region" had just completed the AFC B certificate coaching course.

At this time, when coach Nguyen Huu Thang and his team and the Vietnamese national team have just begun to conquer the AFF Cup 2016, the hero from 8 years ago, Duong Hong Son, continues to be busy with the level 1 goalkeeper coaching course organized by the Asian Football Federation.

Closing a successful journey as a player, now is the most appropriate time for Hong Son to continue studying and improving his coaching qualifications.

During his playing career, the goalkeeper who grew up at Vinh Stadium did not really make many significant contributions to the Nghe An team. However, at the national team level, Hong Son deserves to be called a “hero”. He is also considered one of the most successful examples as a player for future players to learn from.

Trung Kien