Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung: Be like Tran Nguyen Manh!
(Baonghean.vn) - The "goalkeeper" born in 1997 is considered the main reason for the comeback of U23 North Korea in the final match of Group D, 2020 AFC U23 Championship.
Bui Tien Dung's own goal helped U23 North Korea successfully come back, with a final victory of 2-1. This was the second elementary mistake of the "national goalkeeper" in just 1 and a half months. Bui Tien Dung's most recent mistake was in the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Indonesia (2-1) in the group stage of SEA Games 30, which took place at the end of 2019 (December 1).
It is known that mistakes are inevitable in football, especially for goalkeepers. However, mistakes occurring frequently in a short period of time (more than 1 year), in different colors (Thanh Hoa Club, Hanoi Club, U22 Vietnam, U23 Vietnam) and in different arenas (National Cup 2018, AFC Cup 2019, SEA Games 30, U23 Asia Finals 2020) is a very serious problem.
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| Bui Tien Dung's wrong handling. Photo: baogiaothong.vn |
Any criticism at this point no longer has much meaning for the 23-year-old goalkeeper, because it is all in the past. The key is that Bui Tien Dung must know how to stand up after falling, determined to correct mistakes when he has made them. Only then can the goalkeeper from Thanh Hoa save, maintain and develop his career, to continue to be worthy of the title of "national goalkeeper".
If there is a role model for Bui Tien Dung to follow, then there is no one else but Tran Nguyen Manh. The former SLNA goalkeeper was once in the same situation as Bui Tien Dung is now, or even worse. It all started with the red card that Tran Nguyen Manh received in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2016 semi-final between the Vietnamese team and the Indonesian team, which took place at My Dinh Stadium.
At a time when the home team was at a disadvantage (0-1 down), the goalkeeper born in 1991 had a cold-blooded tackle on a player on the opposing team. As a result, Tran Nguyen Manh was sent off by the referee (minute 76). Despite their best efforts, coach Nguyen Duc Thang's players still had to accept a 2-2 draw and sadly stopped at the semi-finals (the total score after the two home and away matches was 3-4).
From that moment on, Tran Nguyen Manh was considered a “sinner” by a large part of Vietnamese fans. However, those insults and criticisms did not make the goalkeeper from Nghe An lose his spirit, self-confidence and self-esteem. Instead of explaining and justifying his mistakes, Tran Nguyen Manh threw himself into training non-stop.
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| Tran Nguyen Manh during a training session of the Vietnam National Team. Photo: Archive |
Tran Nguyen Manh's efforts were also rewarded. In the 2017 season, Tran Nguyen Manh played extremely well, contributing greatly to the Nghe An team's National Cup championship. "The joy was short-lived", with an injury suffered in the match between SLNA and Tampines Rovers (Singapore) at the AFC Cup 2018, Tran Nguyen Manh had to stay away from the field for a whole year.
Returning at the beginning of the 2019 season, the 29-year-old goalkeeper continued to be highly regarded by coach Nguyen Duc Thang. Not disappointing the trust and expectations of the coaching staff, Tran Nguyen Manh shone brightly with a series of brilliant saves for SLNA (the best goalkeeper of V.League 2019). Thanks to that, the goalkeeper born in 1991 was named by coach Park Hang-seo in the Vietnam National Team to participate in the King's Cup 2019, taking place in Thailand. A sweet return.
Tran Nguyen Manh can do it, but what about Bui Tien Dung?