The silent warriors leave the V.League field

Center back Nguyen Minh Duc, born in 1983, is the former captain of the Vietnam U16 team who created a stir at the U16 Asian Cup held in Da Nang in 2000. Since then, this Nghe An player has had many successes playing for SLNA, Hai Phong, XT Saigon and in 2014, Minh Duc returned to play for his hometown team.

During his time playing for the national team, his most valuable achievement was winning the 2008 AFF Cup with coach Calisto and the stars of that year. Minh Duc's generation is midfielder Nguyen Van Vinh, both of whom completed their AFC B-level coaching degrees before quietly retiring from their top-flight careers at the end of 2017.

Of the 2008 Vietnamese national team stars, only Huynh Quang Thanh (16) is still playing for his club. Photo: Internet

2017 also witnessed another SLNA player quietly saying goodbye to the pitch, midfielder Nguyen Hong Viet. The player born in 1989, after leaving SLNA to join Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City clubs, quietly ended his career.

V.League also witnessed the "heroes" of Vietnamese football such as Nguyen Minh Chau, Nguyen Vu Phong, Phan Van Tai Em. These stars helped the Vietnamese national team win the AFF Cup 2008. In his career, Nguyen Minh Chau only played for one team, Hai Phong. After more than a decade of dedication, at the end of the 2017 season, Minh Chau retired to follow his family abroad.

As for midfielder Vu Phong, after experiencing his golden period with B. Binh Duong from 2006 to 2013, the player born in 1985 chose SHB Da Nang as the final stop in his career. Here, Phong “the wind god” had 3 years of dedication before retiring at the end of 2017 to become an assistant coach at the Han River football team.

Also following the coaching career is former midfielder Phan Van Tai Em (born in 1982), captain of the Vietnam national team at the AFF Cup 2008, whose "shorts and shirt" career actually ended in mid-2017 for Tai Em. In the second leg of the 2017 V.League, Tai Em was an assistant to coach Minh Phuong in Long An. This season, he is the head coach of Saigon FC. Thus, all the players who reached the pinnacle of Southeast Asian football glory 10 years ago have retired and most of them have pursued a coaching career.

In contrast to his colleagues, the famous midfielder with fiery playing style Tran Chi Cong left the field under different circumstances. Although he was still very passionate about football, the incident of stepping on Thai Quy's thigh in round 11 of V.League 2017 and receiving a severe penalty from VFF, the midfielder from Can Tho had no way back.

Vietnamese football stars retired in 2017

1. Left back Phung Van Nhien | 1982 | Last club: Hai Phong

2. Center back Nguyen Van Bien | 1985 | Last club: Hanoi FC

3. Center back Duong Van Pho | 1984 | Last club: HAGL and Dong Thap

4. Center back Le Bat Hieu | 1984 | Last club: FLC Thanh Hoa

5. Center back Nguyen Minh Duc | 1983 | Last club: SLNA

6. Center back Tran Chi Cong | 1983 | Last club: XSKT Can Tho

7. Midfielder Nguyen Minh Chau | 1985 | Last club: Hai Phong

8. Midfielder Dang Khanh Lam | 1984 | Last club: Hai Phong

9. Winger Nguyen Vu Phong | 1985 | Last club: SHB Da Nang

10. Midfielder Nguyen Van Vinh | 1984 | Last club: SLNA

11. Midfielder Vo Duy Nam | 1986 | Last club: Ho Chi Minh City Club

12. Midfielder Phan Van Tai Em | 1982 | Last club: Long An

13. Midfielder Nguyen Hong Viet | 1989 | Last club: Ho Chi Minh City Club