SLNA center back Manh Hung: A pity for a talent

In 2010, as the leader of the SLNA U.17 team, Manh Hung made a big impression as the leader of the defense, possessing classy free kicks. With 3 goals from set pieces along with good defensive command, Manh Hung excellently won the title of "Best Player of the Tournament", although that year, SLNA could not overcome SHB.Da Nang in the final match.

Early bloomer

Immediately, Manh Hung was promoted to the first team. Starting to play for SLNA from V-League 2013 with an aggressive, stubborn and extremely good "anti-Western" playing style, Nghe An people began to think of the image of Huu Thang from years ago.

Manh Hung was once a promising national player. Photo: Archive

Hung “tiu”’s football career gradually improved over 3 seasons (2013-2015) with his very strange left foot, developing much better than his teammate Ngoc Hai. SLNA’s coaching staff was as happy as “catching gold” when they had in their hands the steel central defender pair Manh Hung - Ngoc Hai at national level, reducing the need to use foreign players, prioritizing the strikers.

This central defender once caught the eye of coach Hoang Van Phuc and soon after, Hung was named in the U.23 Vietnam squad to play in a number of friendly matches. Not long after, Manh Hung was even happier when he was called up to the national team to play a friendly match against Arsenal.

However, success too early was the condition for this young star to be complacent, and his professional career continued to decline. Bad luck followed one after another, first the team's internal discipline and then a torn ligament during a training session, which forced Manh Hung to stay away from the field for about 2 years.

It was thought that a young player was trusted to replace Huy Hoang, the legend of Nghe An football, so Manh Hung's future would be very bright. Having played in the V-League very early, Pham Manh Hung, at only 25 years old, has played 6 seasons for SLNA, more than any other player.

Fading

But in reality, the football field has given Manh Hung a lot and also taken away from him a lot of honor, money and fame. Once, the coaching board of the Nghe An football team, including coach Nguyen Duc Thang himself, called Hung's parents from their hometown to return them to the family.

Manh Hung returned to the Nghia Dan rubber forest, playing soccer with his peers before the 2004 Provincial Children's Soccer Tournament, where Hung first became famous. Two months away from the soccer team was also the time when Manh Hung reflected on his life, dared to stand up and start over, committed to focusing on his expertise, staying away from all temptations of everyday life.

With the approval of SLNA's coaching board, Manh Hung went back to Vinh, leaving behind all the fun, Hung practiced day and night to improve his physical strength. In the second leg of V-League 2017, Hung began to appear again in SLNA's shirt both in the position of center back and left back with his usual fierce playing style. In SLNA's National Championship Cup, Manh Hung also contributed a remarkable part.

The possibility of SLNA re-signing the contract is extremely low. Photo: TK

During his 6 years playing for SLNA, Manh Hung played 87 matches, 6,913 minutes on the field, the peak of which was V-League 2015 with 22/26 matches played (started 21 matches). After that peak, the number of appearances of this central defender gradually decreased, in the 6th season, at the peak of his career, Manh Hung only played 6 matches, in which he started in the main squad for only 3 matches.

Currently, at SLNA, Manh Hung's number of appearances is only higher than Sy Nam's and he is the second reserve for the left-back position, after his junior Ngoc Duc. As for the center-back position, Manh Hung is even behind The Nhat. For a center-back who used to play for the national team but only played 488 minutes in the V-League throughout the entire season, this is alarming for a player's career.

Another important thing is that in 3 consecutive seasons, the number of matches and minutes played have decreased seriously. If in V-League 2016, Manh Hung played 15 matches (994 minutes), in V-League 2017 he only played 10 matches (859 minutes) and this season he played 6 matches (488 minutes).

Although he is a player with good physique and strength, every time he enters the field, Manh Hung does not create peace of mind for his teammates and the coaching staff. There are many situations where Manh Hung is "startled" when facing strikers who handle the ball quickly and skillfully. The ability to choose a position and mark people in recent seasons of this former national team player has been problematic, so SLNA often concedes unnecessary goals.

The possibility of Manh Hung being re-signed by SLNA is extremely low, the breakup may be a good thing for both of them. In a new environment, with more playing time, Manh Hung's chances of recovering his ball sense will be greater. But thinking back, it is truly a pity for a talent that blossomed and faded quickly in Nghe An football!

Catcosan Vinh