The day of Le Cong Vinh's 'return'

(Baonghean.vn) - The match between SLNA and Ho Chi Minh City Club on April 8 will receive much more attention thanks to the presence of Le Cong Vinh in the A stands of Vinh Stadium.

Le Cong Vinh was born in Nghe An and grew up in SLNA. During his time playing for the youth teams and then the first team, the 1985-born player was one of the most beloved players of Nghe An fans and one of the symbols of SLNA.

Everything was turned upside down when Le Cong Vinh decided to join Mr. Hien's team, Hanoi T&T (now renamed Hanoi Club) in 2008. Since then, the striker from Quynh Luu has become the most "hated" target of SLNA fans.

Le Cong Vinh (right) in Hanoi T&T jersey competes for the ball with his junior Nguyen Trong Hoang. Photo: Hai Thinh

Every time he faces his hometown team, whether at Hang Day Stadium or Vinh City, Le Cong Vinh always has to endure a storm of curses from his fellow countrymen in the stands, outside the stadium, and even on social networking sites.

The trips back to Vinh to compete with SLNA were truly torture for Le Cong Vinh. Right in the first match against his old team, the player from Quynh Luu had to suffocate under the curses of Vinh city's audience when Hanoi T&T played away against SLNA in V. League 2009.

That was the match where the capital representative had to accept defeat with a score of 1-2, Le Cong Vinh played quite poorly because he could not overcome the pressure. But that was nothing compared to what CV9 had to endure in the match where Hanoi T&T visited SLNA 2 years later.

In the final round of V. League 2011, Mr. Hien's team had a decisive match for the championship with SLNA. In the situation, the home team only needed a draw to lift the cup, but on the contrary, HN T&T needed a victory to defend the title won in the previous season.

The heat of the match lasted all week, the person who felt the most pressure was none other than Le Cong Vinh. As soon as the car carrying Hanoi T&T arrived at Vinh Stadium, a series of SLNA fans were waiting with angry eyes, heavy curses were thrown at Le Cong Vinh. Although he is a very professional player, the striker currently on the payroll of Hanoi T&T Club still could not help but be overwhelmed by the behavior of SLNA fans.

From the warm-up minutes until his appearance on the field, the away team's number 9 striker was the target of continuous curses from SLNA fans. Everything only calmed down when the referee blew the final whistle, with the championship belonging to the Nghe An team.

In the joyful atmosphere of the coaching staff, SLNA players and Vinh City fans, Le Cong Vinh sat sadly as if he wanted to cry. Perhaps, the sadness of the home team Hanoi T&T not being able to successfully defend the championship was nothing compared to the sadness of having to endure the hostile treatment of Nghe An fans.

Le Cong Vinh shares joy with coach Nguyen Huu Thang after scoring against Hai Phong in V. League 2013. Photo: Trung Kien

After the “defection” from Hanoi T&T to Hanoi Football Club of Mr. Kien in 2012, Le Cong Vinh still did not receive much sympathy from SLNA fans. It seemed that the possibility of Le Cong Vinh returning to wear the Nghe An football team’s shirt would never happen, but the event of Mr. Kien being arrested and Hanoi Football Club having to disband the team became a turning point.

Receiving an invitation from SLNA's Board of Directors, Le Cong Vinh decided to sign a 1-year contract with the Vinh Stadium team to play in the V. League 2013. Surprisingly, Le Cong Vinh was warmly welcomed by Nghe An fans as if there had never been a separation.

In the match between SLNA and Hai Phong in the first round of V. League 2013, Le Cong Vinh scored the opening goal for his team. The image of this striker running out onto the pitch to celebrate the goal and crying made all the spectators at Vinh Stadium stand up and applaud non-stop.

Le Cong Vinh has shown everyone how much he loves SLNA. Although he only played for the Nghe An team for more than half a season (in July 2013, he moved to the Japanese club Consadole Sapporo), Le Cong Vinh still scored 14 goals. This is the sweetest return of Le Cong Vinh after more than 4 years away.

Currently, Le Cong Vinh is the acting president of Ho Chi Minh City Club. Photo: Internet.

Since then, Nghe An fans have almost stopped hating Le Cong Vinh. In the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Le Cong Vinh joined B. Binh Duong and had matches against the Nghe An team. However, at this time, the striker born in 1985 was on the other side of his career, so the attention was no longer as great as before. The boos and curses of SLNA fans for this player no longer appeared in the stands.

On the afternoon of April 8, Le Cong Vinh will return to Vinh Stadium as an opponent of SLNA. However, this time is completely different as the former striker of the Vietnam national team is no longer a player but instead plays the role of a boss. Nghe An fans will welcome him with love and admiration./.

Thanh Hung