Phan Như Thuật: From 'football muse' to 'assistant coach' of SLNA

Early blossoming talent

It can be said that Phan Nhu Thuat is a special player. He is special not only because of his football talent and his "magical" passes on the field, but also because Nhu Thuat is a rare case in Nghe An football who was admitted to the Party while still a football player. And while playing for SLNA, he also served as the team's secretary and accountant thanks to his exemplary conduct and ethics.

Former midfielder Phan Như Thuật was born in 1984 in Vinh City. Growing up in a family with no sporting tradition, he joined the SLNA youth academy at the age of 11. In his very first year as a SLNA youth talent, Như Thuật and his peers won third place in the 1996 National Children's Football Tournament.

Phan Như Thuật (far right) and his teammates during their Junior Championship victory in 1998. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

A year later, Nhu Thuat and the SLNA U14 team won the 1998 National Youth Football Championship. After the 2000 AFC U16 Championship finals, Nhu Thuat emerged as a phenomenon, alongside players like Van Quyen, Minh Duc, Van Vinh, and Duc Anh. His composed playing style, exquisite passes, and excellent tactical vision led experts at the time to predict that Thuat would be a new version of Hong Son in Vietnamese football.

With talent, determination, and the right opportunity, Nhu Thuat easily secured a position at SLNA. However, his flamboyant, carefree playing style, avoiding physical contact, seemed incompatible with a team that favored a strong, robust style of play like SLNA. With his scholarly appearance, fair skin, and height of less than 1.65m, Nhu Thuat was more suited to a profession like teaching than a football player.

Nhu Thuat's peak was probably at the 2003 JVC Cup, a pre-SEA Games 22 tournament featuring the Vietnam U22 team, SLNA, and several teams from Malaysia and Indonesia. That was a time when the Vietnam U22 team had nearly a dozen SLNA players in their squad, including Huy Hoang, The Anh, Hong Son, Hai Nam, Lam Tan, Van Quyen, Quoc Vuong, and others.

Midfielder Phan Như Thuật (number 8) at age 16 at the 2000 AFC U16 Championship. Photo: Quang Minh

Naturally, newcomers to the first team like Phan Như Thuật and Lê Công Vinh had no chance of catching the eye of coach Alfred Riedl. However, the impressive performances of these two players in the SLNA jersey helped coach Hữu Thắng's team reach the final against Perak FC of Malaysia.

It was like a dream final; SLNA fell behind 0-1 due to a mistake by center-back Aphonse, but once again, the diminutive midfielder Phan Như Thuật showed he is a promising talent with his sharp and extremely accurate counter-attacking passes.

Just four minutes after falling behind, SLNA equalized with a well-executed attack. From midfield on the right wing, Nhu Thuat launched a long pass down the middle just outside the 16.5-meter box to Le Cong Vinh. The pass allowed Cong Vinh to sprint past the Perak defense and curl the ball into the far corner to equalize 1-1. Subsequently, a combination between Nhu Thuat, Thanh Thuong, and Cong Vinh secured a dramatic 2-1 victory for SLNA.

For the third time in the tournament, Le Cong Vinh was voted Man of the Match, winning the Golden Boot with 4 goals and a special award for the best player of the tournament. Phan Nhu Thuat was awarded the prize for the best goal of the tournament. Following that successful tournament, Nhu Thuat and Cong Vinh were called up by coach Alfred Riedl to participate in the 22nd SEA Games as additional players.

The arduous process of proving oneself.

Returning to SLNA, Nhu Thuat gradually faded into obscurity. In 2011, he lost his starting position and had to go all the way to Binh Dinh to seek opportunities. After two years with the Binh Dinh team, Thuat returned home because he couldn't meet their expectations. In 2013, Nhu Thuat came back to his hometown with many worries about his future. He only played in amateur football leagues, and after being encouraged, Thuat frankly expressed his aspirations to SLNA because at that time, only his hometown team could help him.

At that time, because they hadn't found a foreign player for the midfield, the SLNA leadership called Nhu Thuat in to discuss a partnership. There was no signing bonus, the salary was only 7 million VND/month, and the team from Nghe An let Thuat choose for himself. Nhu Thuat immediately agreed and went home to pack his belongings to continue his passion. Knowing he was a temporary solution, Thuat still happily accepted, because his age still allowed him to continue his career.

Phan Như Thuật's competition achievements. Graphic: TK

The two starting players at the time, Quang Tình and Khắc Ngọc, were too weak and lacked the stamina to play 90 minutes, while Hoàng Thịnh's injury had not yet recovered. The opportunity arose for Như Thuật when SLNA had no other alternatives and were forced to place their trust in him. Despite his age and less-than-stellar physical condition, Như Thuật performed his role perfectly when he played, becoming a source of moral support for his teammates.

After the away match against Hai Phong in round 26 of the 2016 V.League, Nhu Thuat's contract with SLNA expired, and that was also the day he quietly said goodbye to his playing career. After retiring, he immediately enrolled in a coaching course hoping to continue his involvement with football.

My passion for coaching.

A rare talent in Nghe An football, with exemplary moral character, Nhu Thuat was entrusted with leading the SLNA U11 team in the 2017 National Youth Football Tournament, where he won the championship. This was despite the fact that he had previously only been an assistant to Huy Hoang in the SLNA U11 team during the qualifying rounds. That championship held great significance for Nghe An football and for Phan Nhu Thuat personally, as it had been quite a while since the Nghe An youth football team had lifted a trophy.

Coach Phan Như Thuật and his team celebrate winning the 2019 U15 National Championship. (Coach Phan Như Thuật is wearing a hat in the photo). (Photo courtesy of the club)

In 2018, Nhu Thuat continued to be part of the coaching staff of the SLNA U11 team at the national tournament. The SLNA young players achieved resounding victories, winning the championship again, much to the delight of Nhu Thuat and the other young coaches. Now, Nhu Thuat holds a coaching certificate A issued by the Asian Football Confederation. Having demonstrated his dedication and ability in leading young players, this year Nhu Thuat was assigned for the first time as head coach of the SLNA U15 team in 2019.

In his first stint as head coach of the SLNA U15 team, Nhu Thuat, along with his capable colleagues such as coaches Le Ky Phuong and Pham Van Quyen, led the young SLNA players to successfully defend their championship title after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Thanh Hoa. Following the U11 and U13 championships, Nhu Thuat was further strengthened within the coaching staff. In just three months, Nhu Thuat led the SLNA youth teams to three consecutive championships.

After 3-4 years in youth coaching, Nhu Thuat still looks like the studious young man he once was. However, the qualities of a teacher and coach are still evident in every training session and every tense match. Speaking about his new role, Nhu Thuat humbly said: “I am fortunate to have the trust of the leadership and to have been given this responsibility. Because I am young and lack experience, the guidance of my seniors has helped me learn a great deal.”

Phan Như Thuật is currently the assistant coach at SLNA. Photo: Trung Kiên

Ahead of the 2020 V.League season, when coach Nguyen Van Thinh returned to youth training, Phan Nhu Thuat began working as an assistant coach at SLNA. Along with his senior teammate Huy Hoang, he was one of the two most valuable assistants to head coach Ngo Quang Truong.

From a brilliant young talent who faded into obscurity at the highest level to achieving success in youth development, Nhu Thuat was right to never give up on his passion no matter the circumstances. He is a shining example for young SLNA talents in terms of passion, ethics, and perseverance.

The moment Van Quyen, Nhu Thuat, and the U15 SLNA team lifted the Championship Cup.

(Baonghean.vn) - True to the nature of a final match, U15 SLNA and U15 Thanh Hoa provided Vietnamese fans with a captivating game. The final victory was hard-fought but showed the resilience of coach Phan Nhu Thuat's team.