Nguyen Manh repented and affirmed 'no cold-blooded attack'

(Baonghean.vn) - The number 1 goalkeeper of the Vietnam national team returned to his hometown Do Luong after a forgettable match at My Dinh Stadium on the evening of December 7. Having to leave the field due to a red card in the 75th minute, which put his teammates at a disadvantage, Nguyen Manh spoke up about his moment of lack of restraint.

In the 75th minute of the second leg semi-final match against Indonesia, in a situation where he jumped up to compete with defender Bayu Pradana from a corner kick, the SLNA goalkeeper was elbowed in the face by the opponent and responded by kicking the opponent in the back. Nguyen Manh's lack of composure, although it happened very quickly and did not have a strong impact, caused the Indonesian player to hold his back in pain. However, after a minute of consultation with the assistant, the main referee Fu Ming gave a red card and directly expelled the number 1 goalkeeper of the Vietnam national team.

Goalkeeper Nguyen Manh needs to stand up after his unfortunate mistake.

Because of disappointment when he received a red card, putting his teammates in a difficult position in the context of needing to beat Indonesia to get a ticket to the next round, after leaving the field, Nguyen Manh did not dare to sit in the stands to continue watching the match but went straight to the dressing room to sit alone and think.

After what he had experienced, Nguyen Manh regretfully shared: "I am really disappointed and regretful with my actions that led to the red card and I want to apologize to everyone. Actually, I only lightly kicked the Indonesian player to push him off me because he was lying on top of me after a dispute in the air and then fell down, but I did not intend to hit him in any way. But the linesman thought that I had hit the opponent in a dirty way, so he told the main referee to give me a red card.

No one in the team blamed me for my mistakes or talked about the goals I lost. Everyone just cried because they couldn't do what everyone expected, which was to reach the final. But the red card made my sadness of failure even heavier."

The match has been over for 2 days, Nguyen Manh is still tormenting himself. And Ms. Phuong Chi - the wife of the goalkeeper from Nghe An said: "That night, when I called him, he couldn't tell me anything, he just cried... I felt so sorry for him. We have known each other and loved each other for nearly 8 years now, I know with his personality, he has never hit anyone or done anything bad on the field. At this time, I can only be there to encourage him and only the moments of being close to my daughter can help him be happy again."

Nguyen Manh finds comfort with his little daughter.

Coach Truong Quang Vinh - the person who discovered and guided goalkeeper Nguyen Manh in his first steps also sent words of encouragement to his former student: “That's all I know about sports. Glory and tears always go together, you always have to strive. As for me, I always teach my students not to be arrogant when they win and not to be discouraged when they lose. Mistakes must be corrected. No one can be perfect. As long as you always strive. I and those who truly love Vietnamese football always support...”.

Trung Kien