From 'Yellow Shirt' captain to The Cong leader

Nghe An football began in 1921, when the first Vietnamese football team was established at Vinh National School, named “Lam Thanh Football Team” and developed strongly in the 1930s. During the French colonial period, the most famous was still the ASNA team of the Nghe An Gymnastics Association (Association sportive Nghe An), established in 1930, commonly known as the Yellow Shirt team.

On December 12, 1930, Thanh Nghe Tinh Tan Van Newspaper reported on the match between the Yellow Shirts and Comete on the afternoon of November 30, 1930. The Yellow Shirts won 3-1. In the Yellow Shirts' lineup that day, the name "Khanh" was seen, in the center forward position. That was Tong Viet Khanh, the first captain of the Yellow Shirts.

Newspapers reported on the Yellow Shirts' matches in 1930 and 1932.

Tong Viet Khanh was born in 1912, his hometown was Hue, but he and his family settled in Vinh. He grew up tall and strong, just when football began to develop in the young city of Vinh - Ben Thuy. At the age of eighteen, he was already the captain of the Yellow Shirt team. Khanh and his teammates dominated the football fields of Central Vietnam. Not only competing with teams in the city, but the Yellow Shirt team also regularly traveled, or hosted strong teams in the North and Central Vietnam at home, such as Auto Hall of Hanoi, Olimpique of Hai Phong, SEPSH of Hue, Sports Touranais (Da Nang), ASGF Nha Trang, Kien Huong (Thanh Hoa), AS Faifo (Hoi An)...

He was present in almost every match of the Yellow Shirt and was the hope of the home team and the fans. “The eyes of sports fans in Vinh often hope for Khanh’s magical kicks” (Thanh Nghe Tinh Tan Van Newspaper, December 4, 1932).

In September 1932, the Yellow Shirts accepted the invitation of the festival organizers in Da Nang to compete. Although lacking many key players, because they "wanted to prolong the emotional bond", captain Khanh and his team still went to Tourane. In that match, Khanh played brilliantly, scoring two goals. The Bac Ky Sports Newspaper on September 20, 1932 reported: "The board passed the pomegranate to Khanh, and the captain Vinh from 10 meters away kicked a powerful ball that made Chaubert panic and helpless. In the third minute, the ball landed on Vinh's new left-wing foot, and Kiem had the chance to score his debut goal, crossing the ball into the middle for Khanh to put into Chaubert's net. So in less than 3 minutes, Vinh equalized and won another game." Although the Yellow Shirts could not maintain the score and lost the match, the Yellow Shirts captain was still voted the Best Player.

During these years, Tong Viet Khanh was called up to the Central Vietnam team many times. In the match on November 10, 1933 at Stade Magin in Hanoi, Central Vietnam tied with North Vietnam 3-3. The newspaper commented: "The best players of Central Vietnam: Tuong, Khanh, Duoc, Tot". In the early 1940s, the Doucuroy sports movement spread to Vinh City, not only football, but other sports such as Boxing, swimming, table tennis, basketball, athletics... also developed.

Photo of Bac Ky Sports Newspaper on September 20, 1932.

In football, many new teams appeared. The Yellow Shirts were also consolidated and improved. At this time, a star of Northern football, Tran Xuan, a former player of Olimpique Hai Phong, also brought his wife and children to Vinh to start a career. Tran Xuan was invited to return to the Yellow Shirts to take on the role of captain. Tong Viet Khanh also returned to the Yellow Shirts. Although they were at the age of "veterans", the couple Xuan - Khanh were still the pillars of the team. The two brothers continued to dominate the football fields of Central Vietnam, from Thanh Hoa to Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang...

In the 1942 Central Vietnam tournament, the Yellow Shirts crushed AS Faifo (Hoi An) 6-1. Not only were they pillars, they were also inspirations and teachers who trained younger players, such as Bui Nghen, Quang Hoa... Among them, Bui Nghen, also known as Sinh, later became a famous player of the Hanoi Police team.

The Sports and Youth Newspaper of Indochina (Sports jeunesse d'Indochine), on April 23, 1944, in the section "Each week, each head" had an article about striker Tong Viet Khanh: "Nine or ten years ago, when the sports movement was still new in Vinh, a football team named "Nghe An Sports" appeared. With many talented and famous players, that team recorded a glorious period in the history of football in which people did not forget the leader, striker Tong Viet Khanh... With kicks as strong as cannonballs and solid headers, whether in friendly matches or championship matches, he alone always broke through the opponent's net at least a few times."

Article about Tong Viet Khanh in the Indochina Sports and Youth newspaper 1944.

During the resistance war against the French, Tong Viet Khanh worked in the Southern Central battlefield. From a cadre of Duc Thang ward, Phan Thiet town, he successively held positions in the town and Binh Thuan province. In 1953, he was transferred and added to the Party Executive Committee of Lam Dong Provincial Party Committee and some other jobs. The battlefield was arduous and dangerous, so Tong Viet Khanh probably did not have the opportunity to play football. However, it was during this time that he scored the most important goal of his life. The goal was named after Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Huong, a girl with the salty beauty and strength of the sun, wind and waves of Phan Thiet sea. In 1955, he gathered in the North and never thought that there would be an opportunity to return to top football, when he was 43 years old.

Immediately after the Dien Bien Phu victory, the Army Sports Group (abbreviated as The Cong) was established in September 1954. Considering sports as a special military branch, cadres who were good at sports, military and politically steadfast were selected here to build the movement.

Therefore, as soon as he set foot in the North, Tong Viet Khanh, along with other famous football players of the South and Central regions such as Truong Tan Buu, Truong Tan Nghia, Ho Quang Quoi, etc., were immediately transferred to The Cong. Here, as a famous player and a former member of the Provincial Party Committee, Tong Viet Khanh was assigned to hold the position of political commissar. Later, in 1956, he held the position of head of delegation and political commissar of The Cong. With the courage and experience of a famous player, many years as captain of the team, and experience in the resistance war, Tong Viet Khanh made great contributions to the construction of The Cong from the first years of its establishment.

Tong Viet Khanh and his team led The Cong to the championship in 1955, 1956, 1958. During these years, the military sports movement of the countries in the socialist bloc also developed strongly. The football tournament between the armies of the socialist countries (SKDA) was born. Tong Viet Khanh was the head of the delegation to take the military football team to participate in friendly tournaments in China (1956); the SKDA tournament between the armies of the socialist countries in the GDR (1958) and many other international friendly matches. On December 13, 1962, Tong Viet Khanh had the honor of taking the military football team of the GDR to the Presidential Palace to meet President Ho Chi Minh.

President Ho Chi Minh meets the football team of the German Democratic Republic Army, December 13, 1962. (Tong Viet Khanh stands in the back row, right).

From the “cap ten” of the famous Nghe An Yellow Shirt, Tong Viet Khanh became the leader of The Cong. Tong Viet Khanh, along with other famous players of the time, are not only monuments, but also the lines connecting Vietnamese football from the beginning to the modern era.

In 1961, Tong Viet Khanh transferred to another job. In 1970, he changed his career to become Deputy Director of the Sports and Physical Training Committee. Around 1974, he suffered a stroke and died in 1984. In 2004, Tong Viet Khanh was one of seven names nominated by the Vietnam Football Federation to receive the FIFA Centenary Medal./.

Pham Xuan Can