Que Ngoc Hai replaced coach Huu Thang to 'avenge' against Indonesia
(Baonghean.vn) - Before the match against Indonesia, Vietnamese football did not have good results. The pain of SEA Games and AFF Cup was still there, but after the match, Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates made even the most demanding audience satisfied.
Entering SLNA, Que Ngoc Hai and Dang Van Lam did not really stand out among the group of talented players. According to the coaches, this boy was a late developer. It was true that in 2011, when he was 18 years old, Que Ngoc Hai and Dang Van Lam were called up to the Vietnam U19 team, then wore the captain's armband to participate in the Southeast Asian Championship.
2013 was truly a milestone for Que Ngoc Hai. He and Pham Manh Hung were promoted to SLNA’s first team by coach Huu Thang to play with his seniors Nguyen Huy Hoang. However, at that time, Hung “crossbar” was the more prominent face. However, coach Huu Thang soon saw the qualities of this active boy.
When Coach Miura first came to Vietnam football, Que Ngoc Hai was the type of central defender he really liked with his good height, strong and fierce playing style. At the AFF Cup 2014, Ngoc Hai made his mark in the national team's shirt in the match against Indonesia at My Dinh with a beautiful goal.
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Touching image of Que Ngoc Hai about Coach Huu Thang after scoring against Indonesia at AFF Cup 2014. Photo: ST |
Fans still remember the image of Coach Huu Thang inside Ngoc Hai's shirt, a gratitude, remembering the teacher who promoted him. The time when Coach Huu Thang had just left SLNA.
"Coach Huu Thang has had the most influence on my career. He trusted me and brought me to play in the V.League in SLNA's shirt. When I first played for the national team, I always wore a shirt with his picture printed on it to encourage myself and motivate me to try harder."
After that, Que Ngoc Hai became the leader of U23 Vietnam in major tournaments such as SEA Games 2015, 2017, U23 Asia Qualifiers 2020, World Cup Qualifiers 2018... under the Japanese coach. However, this is not the most successful period of Vietnamese football.At the AFF Cup 2016, Que Ngoc Hai under the command of coach Huu Thang officially faced Indonesia twice. In the semi-final match on the opponent's field, from Que Ngoc Hai's foul in the penalty area on Lilipaly, Salossa kicked the ball into Nguyen Manh's net, bringing a 2-1 victory for Indonesia.
The semi-final second leg at My Dinh Stadium was a truly historic match, full of emotions and even tears of pain. After Dinh Dong and Nguyen Manh fumbled the ball slowly over the goal line, the Vietnamese team had to play with one less man when Nguyen Manh received a red card and left the field.
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The pitiful images of Que Ngoc Hai when meeting Indonesia at AFF Cup 2016. Photo: ST |
In the situation of being short-handed, Que Ngoc Hai had to put on his gloves and stand in the goal but the miracle did not appear. A strong and passionate center-back suddenly became an unwilling and pitiful goalkeeper. After Ngoc Hai tripped Wahyudi in a face-off in the penalty area, Lestunen scored a penalty kick to equalize 2 - 2 for Indonesia.
In the end, the team of the archipelago won 4-3 and eliminated the Vietnam team from the AFF Cup 2016. A year later, U22 Vietnam under coach Huu Thang met Indonesia again, the Vietnam team that day made the opponent suffocate, "die and come back to life" with an overwhelming game. But then the cruelty of football made us tied and lost, falling into a self-defeating situation when meeting Thailand later.
"If the U22 Vietnam team or the national team fails, I take full responsibility. I think resigning is the right decision. Hopefully, other experts will take over and help Vietnamese football turn a new page for the better."
Vietnam has played better than their opponents in the confrontations under coach Huu Thang with an attacking style of play. But that is football, playing better does not mean winning. We have lost every time we met Indonesia.
It should be remembered that not only coach Huu Thang, in 23 matches in big and small tournaments, Vietnam has only won 5 times, while Indonesia has won 9 matches. On the Indonesian field, the Vietnam team has only won 1 match, drawn 4 and lost 9 matches.
Coach Huu Thang and the Vietnam national team failed, all criticism was directed at the Nghe An coach. And he also took all responsibility and guilt on himself as a captain. That was the courage of a former national team captain, a man who had been honored and disgraced by football and dared to take on great responsibility before Coach Park Hang-seo arrived.
Although before the Korean coach came to Vietnam, Que Ngoc Hai was removed from the national team's roster by interim coach Mai Duc Chung and the National Coaching Council in several matches in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers in 2017.
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Que Ngoc Hai is now truly grown up. Photo: Hai Hoang |
What had to come, Que Ngoc Hai continued to be the leader of the Vietnam national team after a historic journey with coach Park Hang-seo at the national team level. That was the AFF Cup 2018, Asian Cup 2019. The ability, leadership qualities and maturity of this central defender from Nghe An made everyone satisfied and admired.
AFF Cup 2018, when Vietnam hosted Malaysia in the second leg of the AFF Cup final after a 2-2 draw at Bukit Jalil. The match at My Dinh was a rare tense match. 14 yellow cards and 1 red card were shown. On average, every 6 minutes, the match was interrupted by the referee's whistle.
The Vietnamese national team's defense system all received yellow cards, including goalkeeper Dang Van Lam. However, Que Ngoc Hai was the one who did not receive any punishment or warning, always urging his teammates to try hard and stay calm until the end of the match. An amazing change for the center-back who was full of fire but lacked the coolness and efficiency of his youth.
Most recently, in the match against Thailand and Malaysia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, without Dinh Trong, Que Ngoc Hai played his role very well. Not only did he stop all attacks from the opponent, causing the Malaysian strikers to not have a single shot on target, but he also directly assisted Quang Hai to score the decisive goal.
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Que Ngoc Hai celebrates the goal that increased the score to 2 - 0. Photo: Tuan Huu |
Last night, the Vietnam national team overwhelmed Indonesia right in Bali. In the 55th minute of the match between Indonesia and Vietnam in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam national team was awarded a penalty. The person who stepped up to take the kick was captain Que Ngoc Hai. He hopped in the style of Juninho before gently kicking into the net.
That was definitely an emotional goal, an affirmation of Que Ngoc Hai. Previously, Que Ngoc Hai shed tears many times at the SEA Games, at the AFF Cup 2014 and 2016, but now, the central defender who grew up from the SLNA academy makes us proud.
"I have played many matches with Indonesia and none of them had good results. Today, the Vietnamese team played their best to give Vietnamese fans a great match. This victory, for me personally, is very happy."
The Vietnam national team has gone through an undefeated record at the national team level with the players who have been trained by Coach Toshiya Miura and Coach Huu Thang. And that premise, the failures in history have sown and distilled the success of Vietnamese football over the past 2 years.
Today, we see a steel shield Que Ngoc Hai standing tall in front of the goal of the Vietnam National Team. But personally, the person he remembers most is probably Coach Nguyen Huu Thang, who discovered and trusted him in the first days of stepping foot on the V.League and National Team pitch.
Football is like that, this game is like that. The winners are always remembered and the losers are gradually forgotten. Next, the Vietnam national team will meet Thailand again at home. And that is the opportunity for Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates to claim "both principal and interest" from the 0-3 loss at My Dinh 4 years ago./.

Que Ngoc Hai created, Quang Hai scored, leaving Malaysia empty-handed at My Dinh
(Baonghean.vn) - Entering the match, Coach Park Hang-seo's team entered the match quite cautiously while the away team performed very well. Quang Hai's brilliant performance helped the Vietnamese team to win the game.