Listing 3 famous football-loving families from Nghe An province.

1. The family of former football star Van Sy Chi

Born and raised in Hoang Mai town (Nghe An province), the late football legend Van Sy Chi spent his entire playing career with The Cong and Thanh Hoa Police teams. He played for the army team and the Vietnamese national team during the 1960s and 1970s. Always associated with the number 10 jersey, the late legend Van Sy Chi was nicknamed "the immortal number 10".

As a coach, the former Thể Công star was responsible for youth training at SLNA from 1996 to 2003. Thanks to the talent and dedication of Mr. Văn Sỹ Chi, the SLNA training academy (established in 1996) became one of the most prestigious and reputable training academies in Vietnamese football, where players like Phạm Văn Quyến, Nguyễn Minh Đức, Lê Công Vinh, Nguyễn Quang Tình, Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng, Hoàng Văn Bình, etc., received systematic training.

In March 2019, Mr. Van Sy Chi passed away, leaving behind a legacy of sorrow among his family, friends, and Vietnamese football fans.

Not only was he an outstanding player and an exemplary, dedicated coach, Mr. Van Sy Chi was also the "father" of five players: Van Sy Ngoc, Van Sy Hung, Van Sy Son, Van Sy Thuy, and Van Sy Linh.

The trio of Van Sy Hung, Van Sy Son, and Van Sy Thuy were particularly famous while playing for SLNA in the 1990s and early 2000s. They played a significant role in SLNA's numerous prestigious titles, most notably the V.League championship in 2001.

Members of the Văn family. Archival photo.

Now, all five Van brothers are working at the T&T - VSH Youth Football Training Center. This center was built by the Van family themselves in late 2005, before it belonged to the Hai An Group and is now the T&T Group. It must be acknowledged that the Van family is the most famous sports family in Vietnam, much like the Maldini family in distant Italy.

2. The family of former coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh

With 24 years leading SLNA (1980 - 2004), Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh is one of the strategists with the longest tenure as head coach of a team and possesses the most titles in Vietnamese football (National Championship in 2000, V.League in 2001, National Cup in 2002, National Super Cup in 2000, 2001 and 2002...).

At the national team level, Mr. Vinh "Nghe" had the honor of serving as acting head coach of the Vietnam U23 team (from late 2002 to early 2003) and the Vietnam national team (from January to March 2004). The most impressive achievement of former coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh during his time in charge was building the core team for the Vietnam U23 team to participate in the 2003 SEA Games, as the host team.

Former coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh (right) and his son, coach Nguyen Thanh Cong. Photo: dantri.com

Meanwhile, his son, Nguyen Thanh Cong, spent many years playing for SLNA (late 1990s - early 2000s). During his playing career, the former player, born in 1977, played as a striker. After retiring from playing, Nguyen Thanh Cong successively attended coaching courses. Currently, Nguyen Thanh Cong is taking a break after nearly two seasons coaching Saigon FC (2018 - 2019).

According to experts and football fans in Vietnam, Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong is one of the most promising young strategists in Vietnamese football today. What Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong has achieved in the past two seasons with Saigon FC (ranked 5th in the V League in 2019) is enough to affirm the talent of the former SLNA striker. It's worth remembering that in the past, Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong led the SLNA U17 team to victory in the 2008 National U17 Championship. Truly, "like father, like son."

Objectively speaking, the contributions of former coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh, and to some extent coach Nguyen Thanh Cong, to SLNA are immense. From a young, relatively unknown team, under the guidance and leadership of Vinh "Nghe", SLNA gradually became a force in Vietnamese football, a worthy rival to teams like The Cong, Ho Chi Minh City Police, and Saigon Port...

3. The family of former football star Ha Thin

Having been associated with SLNA for 47 years as both a player and a coach (1968 - 2015), the former star player, born in 1952, is considered one of the icons of the Nghe An team. During his playing career, former star player Ha Thin played as a central defender, famous for his header goals. It can be affirmed that, at SLNA, former star player Ha Thin is the most outstanding figure of his generation.

At the end of the 1988 season, former football star Ha Thin was sent by Nghe Tinh province to Germany to study football. After four years of diligent study, former star Ha Thin returned to his hometown to take on youth development work. Under the guidance of former coach Ha Thin, a series of young football talents from Nghe An became pillars of SLNA as well as the national teams. In particular, former coach Ha Thin also contributed to making SLNA's playing style more fluid and refined, instead of relying on rough tackles like in the past.

Former coach Ha Thin and late player Ha Mai Giang receiving the championship trophy at the 2001 Thanh Nien Newspaper U21 Championship Finals. (Archival photo)

During the 2000s, former coach Ha Thin regularly led SLNA's youth teams to participate in the finals. His most impressive achievement in the national youth competition was the U21 SLNA championship at the 2001 Thanh Nien Newspaper U21 Finals, held in Da Nang. Despite his success in youth tournaments, former coach Ha Thin only had the opportunity to lead SLNA in the V.League once, in the 2006 season – his only season as head coach of his hometown team.

Football fans in Nghe An province surely haven't forgotten former midfielder Ha Mai Giang, a player who won two championships with the SLNA U21 team (in 2000 and 2001). Sadly, the midfielder, born in 1979, known for his elegant playing style and once dubbed the "second Phan Thanh Tuan," tragically passed away in a traffic accident in early 2004. This is a great loss for the family of former star player Ha Thin and for Nghe An football.

Nevertheless, as a coach, former coach Ha Thin could not let personal matters affect his work. Suppressing his grief and swallowing his tears, former coach Ha Thin still strived to excellently fulfill his assigned duties. In the summer of 2015, former coach Ha Thin submitted his resignation to the SLNA leadership, citing health reasons, and it was approved. The news of former coach Ha Thin's official retirement caused great regret among football experts and fans in Nghe An province. Because former coach Ha Thin had dedicated his youth and everything most precious to SLNA.

The purpose of mentioning this is to let generations of SLNA fans know the immense contributions of their predecessors, the "veterans," the "heroes" of their hometown team. It is truly a source of pride that Nghe An has produced such outstanding football players and legends as the members of the Van, Nguyen, and Ha families.

Thanh Hung