Veteran Tran Dinh Dong wishes to continue wearing SLNA shirt

Thanh Hung November 5, 2020 15:40

(Baonghean.vn) - Former U23 Vietnam and Vietnam National Team players are among the players who have ended their contracts with their home teams. The possibility of Tran Dinh Dong staying at SLNA next season is still open.

Sharing with Nghe An Newspaper, British defender Son affirmed: "With my current physical strength, I think I can still compete well in the arena."V.Leagueefor another 1-2 seasons. Of course, my biggest and only wish is to continue wearing the SLNA shirt, at least in the 2021 season."

"Although I could not help SLNA win a high position in V.League 2020, my teammates and I tried our best in every match. Personally, I feel satisfied with my performances this season. In every match, I played with more than 100% determination," Tran Dinh Dong self-assessed his performance.

Trần Đình Đồng (áo vàng) luôn thi đấu với tinh thần quả cảm. Ảnh: Xuân Thủy
Tran Dinh Dong (yellow shirt) always competes with a courageous spirit. Photo: Xuan Thuy

According to statistics, in the 2020 season, the English player Son played 13/20 matches in 2 arenas: V.League (11 matches) and National Cup (2 matches), with a duration of 1082 minutes. At the age of 33, not many professional players in Vietnamese football can do as Tran Dinh Dong. The saying "the older the ginger, the spicier" is very true in the case of the defender wearing shirt number 16.

Indeed, in the 2020 season, the former Thanh Hoa player was one of the most impressive players of the Nghe An team. Looking at To Van Vu (B.Binh Duong), Phan Van Long (SHB Da Nang), Do Hung Dung (Hanoi Club) or Dinh Thanh Trung (Quang Nam) having to "keep quiet" in the matches against SLNA, it is enough to know how excellent Tran Dinh Dong is.

It is not by chance that a coach often gives priority to using young players likeCoach Ngo Quang Truongput their trust in Tran Dinh Dong, SLNA's oldest player in the 2020 season, after foreign player Alagie Sosseh (born in 1986) left Vinh Stadium. Just ask why Tran Dinh Dong is appreciated, while Nguyen Quang Tinh and Vuong Quoc Trung are not, it's clear.

Ban huấn luyện SLNA rất trọng dụng Trần Đình Đồng. Ảnh tư liệu Xuân Thủy
SLNA coaching staff highly values ​​Tran Dinh Dong. Photo courtesy of Xuan Thuy

Remember, in handCoach Ngo Quang TruongThere are a series of faces that can play in the left-back position. In addition to Tran Dinh Dong, there are also Vo Ngoc Duc, Mai Sy Hoang and especially Pham Xuan Manh. However, the player wearing shirt number 16 is still trusted by the SLNA coaching staff the most. In some matches, Tran Dinh Dong even had the honor of wearing the captain's armband.

The number of matches he played would have been even more if Tran Dinh Dong had not suffered a serious injury in the match between SLNA and Hong Linh Ha Tinh (1-1), which took place in early July. In addition, the former Thanh Hoa player also had to sit out the procedural matches of SLNA in the last 2 rounds of Group B, Phase 2 of V.League 2020.

Obviously, Tran Dinh Dong is still maintaining a strong physical foundation, stable performance and a desire to play football. Having a player of class and experience like Tran Dinh Dong in the squad will be a great help to SLNA, a team with mostly inexperienced players. Objectively speaking, the former Thanh Hoa defender deserves to be given a new contract.

It is expected that around the end of next week, the Board of DirectorsSLNAand Tran Dinh Dong will have an official meeting to discuss the future of English player Son. It is known that coach Ngo Quang Truong and his team will gather on November 12, starting the preparation process for next year's season./.

Thanh Hung