Que Ngoc Hai has matured remarkably and the secret was revealed before the match against the Philippines
The third consecutive time the Vietnamese team entered the AFF Cup semi-finals was also the third consecutive time Que Ngoc Hai played for the “Golden Stars”. The 25-year-old central defender has matured a lot after his past mistakes.
In the second leg of the AFF Cup 2014 semi-final against Malaysia, Hai “Que” committed a foul in the penalty area, causing the Vietnamese team of coach Toshiya Miura to be penalized and concede an early goal just a few minutes into the match. Then, stemming from the situation where Que Ngoc Hai failed in the aerial ball dispute, we conceded the fourth goal, shattering our hopes of reaching the final.
Two years later, Vietnam reached the semi-finals of the AFF Cup against Alfred Riedl's Indonesia and Que Ngoc Hai made another serious mistake in the first leg. First, he could not stop Hansamu Yama from scoring the opening goal for Indonesia early in the first half. Then, he closed out his unforgettable match by committing a foul in the penalty area early in the second half, which resulted in a penalty and Boaz Solossa sealing a 2-1 victory for the home team.
Furthermore, in the extra time of the second leg of the semi-final at My Dinh, the Vietnamese defense led by Que Ngoc Hai made an offside mistake, allowing the opponent to escape, causing goalkeeper Nguyen Manh to commit a foul, leading to a penalty for Indonesia and Nguyen Manh being sent off. Que Ngoc Hai then reluctantly had to replace Nguyen Manh as goalkeeper but could not prevent the opponent from scoring the equalizer 2-2 and Vietnam was eliminated after a 3-4 defeat.
Those serious mistakes in the last two AFF Cups seemed to haunt Que Ngoc Hai forever, making the SLNA defender never stand up again and closing the door for Hai "Que" to return to the national team. But Mr. Park Hang Seo did not think so.
At the 2018 AFF Cup, he still included Que Ngoc Hai in the list of players for the Vietnamese team and moreover, he also put Bui Tien Dung on the bench and let Que Ngoc Hai start in the defense of the "Golden Stars". Remember, Bui Tien Dung was once an irreplaceable link, a pillar of the U23 Vietnam defense at the U23 Asian Cup and ASIAD 2018.
When Van Quyet was not playing, Mr. Park did not hesitate to choose Que Ngoc Hai as the captain of the Vietnamese team, even though Trong Hoang (29 years old) and Anh Duc (33) were Hai "que"'s seniors and also had a lot of playing experience.
Or like in the final match of the group stage against Cambodia, although Que Ngoc Hai had received a yellow card before, Coach Park did not let the SLNA defender sit on the bench to avoid the risk of receiving another card leading to a suspension in the semi-finals, but still put his name in the starting lineup of the Vietnam team. As a result, Hai "Que" did not disappoint his coach's trust, played calmly and did not receive any penalty cards.
All of those actions show how much trust the Korean coach has in Que Ngoc Hai and it is that trust that Mr. Park has that plays a decisive role in Que Ngoc Hai's remarkable growth at this AFF Cup.
He is deeply grateful to his Korean coach and feels obliged to repay that trust by dedicating himself to the team, playing steadily, with moderation and good self-control.
Since the beginning of the tournament, we have seen a completely new image of Hai "Que". Still fierce and strong in blocking but much more alert and mature than the previous 2 AFF Cups. Moreover, Hai "Que" also has many accurate attacking passes to the front line. All thanks to the trust and tolerance of Coach Park Hang Seo.
