Phan Nhu Thuat: From 'football poet' to 'deputy general' of SLNA

Early talent

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

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

Phan Nhu Thuat (standing far right) and teammates in the 1998 Youth Championship. Photo: NVCC

A year later, Nhu Thuat and SLNA U14 won the 1998 National Youth Football Championship. After the 2000 U16 Asian Cup finals, Nhu Thuat emerged as a phenomenon, along with Van Quyen, Minh Duc, Van Vinh, Duc Anh. Looking at his dignified playing style, delicate passes, and excellent tactical vision, experts at that time said that Thuat would be a new version of Hong Son in Vietnamese football.

With talent, will and opportunity, Nhu Thuat was easily given a position at SLNA. However, Thuat's romantic and confrontational playing style seemed to be unsuitable for a team with a strong and tough playing style like SLNA. With a scholarly appearance, white skin, and a height of less than 1m65, Nhu Thuat was more suitable for a career as a teacher than a football player.

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

Midfielder Phan Nhu Thuat (number 8) at the age of 16 at the 2000 AFC U16 Championship. Photo: Quang Minh

Naturally, players who were just starting out in the first team like Phan Nhu Thuat and Le Cong Vinh had no chance of being noticed by coach Alfred Riedl. However, the impressive performances of these two players in SLNA’s jersey helped coach Huu Thang and his team reach the final against Malaysia’s Perak Club.

It was like a dream final, SLNA was behind 0-1 due to a mistake by central defender Aphonse, but once again, small midfielder Phan Nhu Thuat showed that he is a promising talent with his sharp and extremely accurate counter-attacking passes.

Just 4 minutes after falling behind, SLNA equalized the game with a well-organized attack. From the middle of the field on the right wing, Nhu Thuat sent a long pass down the middle in front of the 16.50m circle to Le Cong Vinh. The pass helped Cong Vinh race past the Perak defense and then flick the ball into the far corner to tie the score at 1-1. After that, the combination between Nhu Thuat - Thanh Thuong and Cong Vinh brought a dramatic 2-1 victory for SLNA.

For the third time in the tournament, Le Cong Vinh was voted the best player of the match, winning the Golden Boot with 4 goals and the special award for the best player of the tournament. Phan Nhu Thuat was awarded the award for the player who scored the most beautiful goal of the tournament. After that successful tournament, Nhu Thuat and Cong Vinh were called up by coach Alfred Riedl to attend the 22nd SEA Games as additional players.

Hard work to prove yourself

Returning to SLNA, Nhu Thuat gradually faded away. In 2011, Nhu Thuat lost his position and had to go to Binh Dinh to look for opportunities. After 2 years at the martial arts team, Thuat returned to his hometown because he could not meet the expectations of this martial arts team. In 2013, Nhu Thuat returned to his hometown with many worries about the future. Only hanging around amateur football tournaments, then being encouraged, Thuat also frankly expressed his wishes to SLNA because at that time, only his hometown team could help him.

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

Phan Nhu Thuat's competition achievements. Graphics: TK

The two main players at that time, Quang Tinh and Khac Ngoc, were too weak and it was difficult to ensure their physical strength for 90 minutes, while at that time, Hoang Thinh's injury had not yet recovered. The opportunity came to Nhu Thuat in a situation where SLNA had no other replacements and were forced to put their trust in him. Although he was old and his physical strength was not his strong point, Nhu Thuat played a very good role when on the field, becoming a spiritual support for his teammates.

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

Fate with the coaching profession

As a rare talent of Nghe An football, with exemplary moral character, Nhu Thuat was trusted to be assigned to the U11 SLNA team to compete in the 2017 National Youth Football Tournament and won the championship. Although before that, he was only an assistant to Huy Hoang in the U11 SLNA team competing in the qualifying round. That championship was very meaningful to Nghe An football and Phan Nhu Thuat personally, because it had been a long time since Nghe An youth football had won a trophy.

Coach Phan Nhu Thuat and his team celebrate winning the 2019 National U15 Championship. (In the photo, Coach Phan Nhu Thuat is wearing a hat). Photo courtesy

In 2018, Nhu Thuat continued to be part of the SLNA U11 coaching staff at the national tournament. The SLNA young players won every battle, continuing to win the championship in the excitement of Nhu Thuat and the young coaches. Now in his hands, Nhu Thuat has a coaching certificate A issued by the Asian Football Federation. Affirming his passion and ability in leading young players, this year, for the first time, Nhu Thuat was assigned as the head coach of the SLNA U15 team in 2019.

In his first time leading the SLNA U15 team, Nhu Thuat, along with his effective colleagues, Coach Le Ky Phuong, Coach Pham Van Quyen..., led the SLNA young players to successfully defend the championship after dramatically defeating Thanh Hoa on penalties. And in the two championships of SLNA U11 and SLNA U13, Nhu Thuat was added to the coaching staff. In just 3 months, Nhu Thuat won the championship 3 times in a row with the SLNA youth teams.

After 3-4 years of youth training, Nhu Thuat is still like a student. But the qualities of a teacher and a coach are still shown by Nhu Thuat in every training session and every tense match. Talking about himself in his new position, Nhu Thuat modestly said: "I am lucky to be trusted and assigned tasks by the leaders. Because I am young and do not have much experience, the guidance of my seniors has helped me learn a lot of things."

Phan Nhu Thuat is currently working as assistant coach at SLNA. Photo: Trung Kien

Before V.League 2020, when coach Nguyen Van Thinh returned to youth training, Phan Nhu Thuat practiced as a deputy at SLNA. He and his senior Huy Hoang were two effective assistants of head coach Ngo Quang Truong.

From an outstanding young talent, obscured when competing at the top level and successful in youth training, Nhu Thuat was right to never give up his passion no matter the circumstances. He is a shining example for SLNA's young talents in terms of passion, ethics and determination.

The moment Van Quyen - Nhu Thuat and U15 SLNA lifted the Championship Cup

(Baonghean.vn) - True to the nature of a final match, U15 SLNA and U15 Thanh Hoa gave Vietnamese fans an exciting match. The final victory was somewhat difficult but full of courage for coach Phan Nhu Thuat and his team.