Famous brothers who once played for Song Lam Nghe An

The Nguyen brothers

SLNA fans from the 8X generation and later do not know about central midfielder Nguyen Van Dung, the player who often wore the number 13 shirt for SLNA in the late 80s - early 90s of the last century. It is known that former midfielder Nguyen Van Dung is the real brother of Nguyen Van Tien, also known as Tien "Luc", the player who played in the right wing position for SLNA with the number 14 shirt on his back.

According to former coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh, before joining SLNA, Nguyen Van Dung was a player of Military Region 4. This midfielder is in the same generation as Vu Quang Bao, the “captain” of Thanh Hoa and XSKT Can Tho last season. Talking about his favorite student, Mr. Vinh “Nghe” commented: “Dung is one of the best central midfielders of SLNA ever”.

Coach Nguyen Van Tien (white shirt). Photo: SLNA FC

As for his younger brother Nguyen Van Tien, he plays as a right winger, famous for his powerful throw-ins and direct free kicks. Currently, Tien “Luc” is working as a youth coach at SLNA and has achieved many noble titles (winning the championship at the 2009 National U17 Finals as head coach of U17 SLNA).

Van family

Compared to the Nguyen brothers (Nguyen Van Dung and Nguyen Van Tien), the Van brothers are even more famous beyond Nghe An, with the "legendary trio" of Van Sy Hung - Van Sy Son - Van Sy Thuy. The contributions of the three Van brothers to the overall achievements of SLNA are enormous (winning the 2000 National Championship, winning the 2001 V.League, winning the 2002 National Cup...).

Don’t forget, 2 of the 3 sons of famous football player Van Sy Chi, Van Sy Hung and Van Sy Thuy, had the honor of wearing the Vietnam National Team jersey. In particular, the striker nicknamed “Little Boy” – Van Sy Hung played very successfully at the 1997 SEA Games and the 1998 Tiger Cup (the predecessor of the AFF Cup). Surely Vietnamese football fans still cannot forget the moment Van Sy Hung performed a “bicycle kick” against the Indonesian team and the gentle, delicate chip against the Thai team.

Unfortunately, after years of dedication to SLNA, the members of the Van family all left Nghe An to go to other localities in different ways. Striker Van Sy Hung joined HAGL (2002), striker Van Sy Thuy retired from his football career (2004), left-back Van Sy Son retired from SLNA (2007) and then pursued a coaching career in Hanoi. In the case of the youngest brother Van Sy Linh, his contract was terminated while he was on the youth team.

Former striker Van Sy Hung. Photo courtesy

Currently, Van Sy Hung is holding the position of Youth Training Director of Hanoi Club, Van Sy Thuy and Van Sy Linh are holding different positions at T&T – VSH Football Training Center in Cua Lo town, and Van Sy Son is resting after leaving the Hanoi Club Coaching Board at the beginning of this year's season. Witnessing the Van brothers continue to pursue their passion and achieve success in their football careers, surely, Nghe An fans all feel very warm.

The Que brothers

Just like the Nguyen and Van family predecessors, central defender Que Ngoc Hai and his older brother Que Ngoc Manh are no longer part of SLNA. While Que Ngoc Hai has played his second season for Viettel, the eldest son of the Que family is playing for the First Division team Ba Ria Vung Tau, on loan from Ho Chi Minh City Club.

Que Ngoc Hai and Que Ngoc Manh are products of SLNA training center and have played together for the Nghe An team (2013-2014). Compared to his brother, Que Ngoc Hai's career has been more favorable. During his time playing for his hometown team, Que Ngoc Hai has always proven his talent and importance to the Vinh team. SLNA's 2017 National Cup championship was largely due to the 27-year-old central defender.

Not only playing impressively for SLNA, Que Ngoc Hai also affirmed his class as a top central defender for the national teams. His performances at the AFF Cup 2018 are clear proof. Currently, the player born in 1993 is taking on the role of captain of the Vietnam National Team, since the Asian Cup 2019. A great honor for the Que family.

Center back Que Ngoc Hai. Photo: Archive

In fact, SLNA is not the only team that has ever had brothers in the squad. In the past, there were many teams that had similar players, typically Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) with the twins Ronald de Boer - Frank de Boer or Manchester United (England) with the Neville brothers: Gary Neville and Phil Neville. But with a large number like SLNA, it is very rare./.