Former Song Lam Nghe An goalkeeper Tran Van Tien: When will his status as a 'redundant' end?
Up to this point in the 2024/2025 season, former SLNA goalkeeper Tran Van Tien has yet to play a single match for his home team Ho Chi Minh City Club.
At the end of the 2023/2024 season, the goalkeeper from Do Luong district had to say goodbye.Lam River Nghe Anafter 14 years of dedication. During his time serving his hometown team (2017 - 2024), Tran Van Tien's familiar position was on the bench. According to statistics, Tran Van Tien only had 17 appearances with a total duration of 1,530 minutes.
However, in the new team Ho Chi Minh City Club, things are not going really smoothly for the goalkeeper born in 1994. Specifically, Tran Van Tien is constantly having to sit on the sidelines watching his teammates compete. This is understandable, because coach Phung Thanh Phuong has two very famous goalkeepers, Patrik Le Giang and Bui Tien Dung.
In many aspects, Tran Van Tien is not rated as highly as the two goalkeepers mentioned above. While Patrik Le Giang is one of the best goalkeepers in V.League, Bui Tien Dung, together with U23 Vietnam, created an earthquake at the 2018 U23 Asian Cup. Obviously, according to coach Phung Thanh Phuong's order of priority, Tran Van Tien must be ranked after his two teammates.
Based on the registration list for the last 6 matches in V.League 2024/2025 of Ho Chi Minh City Club, it can be seen that Tran Van Tien always has to carry the status of "extra person". The proof is that the 30-year-old goalkeeper was only chosen by coach Phung Thanh Phuong twice as a backup option for Patrik Le Giang (match against The Cong - Viettel and match against Song Lam Nghe An).
With Ho Chi Minh City Club being eliminated from the National Cup (losing to Phu Dong Ninh Binh in the qualifying round), Tran Van Tien's chances of playing on the field are even more fragile. It seems that the former goalkeeper of Song Lam Nghe An has not been able to "change his fate", even though he has transferred to Ho Chi Minh City Club. Hopefully, Tran Van Tien will continue to make efforts in training.
In general, Ho Chi Minh City Club is not a "good land" for former Song Lam Nghe An players. In the past, besides Ngo Hoang Thinh, other faces have not achieved success in the Thong Nhat Stadium team, typically Tran Phi Son and Ho Tuan Tai, players currently on the payroll of Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc in the National First Division.