Nghe An football stars leave to return!

Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates lifted the 2017 National Cup with SLNA. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Nghe An - the birthplace of many Vietnamese football talents

Nghe An has long been the cradle of national football. Since the professional football tournament in Vietnam,SLNA Clubnever been relegated. Notably, in 2001 and 2011, Nghe An Club was the team crowned champion.V.League. That result is the combination of Nghe An's unique style of play and many generations of talented players. Those players always enter the field to fight with all their enthusiasm, emotion and technique.

It is not by chance that Nghe An has such a football identity. It must originate from the establishment of a systematic youth training system by sports professionals in Nghe An. With a system of classes from U11 to U21 that are trained seriously and professionally, always keeping up with the breath of modern football. That has created success for Nghe An youth football. In recent years, the yellow shirt team has always achieved high achievements in national youth championships. Along with that, it has produced many generations of outstanding players for the country's football. It is possible to mention recent generations of players such as: Huy Hoang, Van Quyen, Cong Vinh, Trong Hoang, Que Ngoc Hai, Van Duc... These are players associated with the milestones of Vietnamese football.

The style of Vietnamese football is greatly influenced by the players who have grown up from the Nghe An football training ground. It is not just a few positions but sometimes it affects all lines. The defenders have Huy Hoang, the midfielders have Quoc Vuong, the strikers have Van Quyen and Cong Vinh. The proof of that is the 2008 AFF Cup championship of the Vietnamese team that bears the mark of striker Cong Vinh. He scored a memorable goal when he equalized 1-1 for the Vietnamese team, thereby helping the red shirt team win the AFF championship after more than half a century of waiting.

The current generation includes stars like Que Ngoc Hai, Trong Hoang, Van Duc, Xuan Manh... whose names have been deeply ingrained in the hearts of football fans. They once again brought home the AFF Cup Gold Cup in 2018. It must be said that Nghe An football, no matter what time, is always full of talent. They have affirmed their brand in the hearts of football fans in the country.

Back to the contributions of Nghe An stars to SLNA Club. The championship of the yellow shirt team in 2011 was the gathering place of many talented Nghe An football players at that time. In the defense line was Huy Hoang, midfielders were Hoang Thinh, Trong Hoang, striker was Cong Vinh... Those were the players who contributed greatly to the V.League championship with SLNA at that time. And an achievement that cannot be ignored is the National Cup championship that the Nghe An team achieved in 2017. In that tournament, there was an explosion of familiar names such as Nguyen Manh, Que Ngoc Hai, Khac Ngoc... At that time, SLNA Club was facing many financial difficulties, but the players devoted all their strength and desire to bring glory to Nghe An fans.

But modern football must be linked to the economy, with the financial support of big bosses. In recent years, SLNA has not had that, the yellow shirt team with limited financial resources, has faced many difficulties. The biggest difficulty the club has to go through is facing the "bleeding" of players. Many talents such as Que Ngoc Hai, Trong Hoang, Nguyen Manh, Khac Ngoc left to find new destinations. They left not because they no longer love the Nghe An club but because they left for the good of the club and the future of their football career.

Que Ngoc Hai confided: “At the end of the 2018 season, my contract with SLNA Club and 10 other players expired. To be honest, I really wanted to stay and continue to be associated with my hometown team, but SLNA is facing limited financial resources. If I continue to be associated with the club, the team will not have enough money to renew the contracts with 10 players whose contracts also expired during that period. Therefore, I chose to leave, which will be good for both the club and myself. However, I still have special feelings for the team that helped me grow up.”

From 2012 to 2020, SLNA witnessed a series of stars saying goodbye to the club, such as: Cong Vinh, Trong Hoang, Que Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Manh, Khac Ngoc, Hoang Thinh... And accordingly, the Nghe An team gradually weakened, no longer maintaining its position as the most successful team in Vietnam.

Go to return

2021 is a year that marks a major turning point for Nghe An football. The new sponsor, Tan Long Group, has taken over the team. From here, SLNA Club will open a new development path, the Club sets many goals, with the expectation of making Nghe An football a powerful force in Vietnamese football. To achieve that, the policy of the Club's leadership is to bring quality players born in Nghe An to contribute to building their hometown team.

The first positive signs are the return of Dinh Hoang, Que Ngoc Hai and Trong Hoang.

In a statement on the day of signing the contract with defender Dinh Hoang, head coach Huy Hoang (SLNA Club) expressed his joy, because he convinced Dinh Hoang to return to the club: "With him, SLNA will be more complete for the missing piece in the full-back position. As you know, Dinh Hoang is a player with the courage, experience and professional level, to be able to meet the harsh competition environment in V.League" - Mr. Huy Hoang shared.

As for Que Ngoc Hai and Trong Hoang, they are two important players in Vietnamese football at the moment. They have enough class to bring formidable strength to the team in the new season when they return to SLNA. When they returned, they had the mentality of a star player, so they have enough quality to make a difference.

Trong Hoang, Que Ngoc Hai, Dinh Hoang are the names that will be in SLNA's squad next season. Photo: Duc Anh

The stars who have left and when they return all carry within them a burning desire to devote themselves to repaying the trust that the club has placed in them. Que Ngoc Hai said: “Every player who leaves wants to be successful and win the championship with the team they play for. But for me personally, if I win the championship with my hometown team, it is a feeling that is difficult to describe, it will be different from winning the championship with another team”.

The 2022 season is the first year SLNA has a transformation, so it is very likely that the club will welcome talented players from Nghe An football to return to build the team.

The yellow team will have enough players with enough heart and ability to conquer the milestones ahead. We can completely trust and expect SLNA to have the glory as before./.