The unfortunate fate of the number 13 jersey at SLNA.
(Baonghean.vn) - No SLNA player dared to "risk" choosing the number 13 jersey in the 2020 season. This is the fourth consecutive season that the number 13 jersey of the Vinh-based team has been left vacant.
According to SLNA's registration list for this season, jerseys numbered 1 to 22 are all occupied, with only number 13 remaining vacant. It seems that Coach Ngo Quang Truong's players are not keen on wearing the number 13 jersey, either because they dislike it or because they fear it will bring them bad luck.
Indeed, a career in football always carries a high risk, so it's perfectly understandable that players choose the number 13 jersey based on the principle of "better safe than sorry." Don't forget, European players rarely choose the number 13 jersey, except for famous legends like Gerd Muller, Thomas Muller (Germany), or Alessandro Nesta (Italy).
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| Former midfielder Nguyen Van Vinh was the most recent owner of the number 13 jersey at SLNA. (Photo: Archival image) |
Throughout SLNA's history, the number of players who have worn the number 13 jersey can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The first notable figure to wear the number 13 jersey for the Nghe An team was central midfielder Nguyen Van Dung (the older brother of coach Nguyen Van Tien, currently leading the SLNA U19 team in the 2020 U19 National Championship qualifiers), a player who competed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The next player to wear the number 13 jersey for SLNA, even more famous than former midfielder Nguyen Van Dung, is left-back Truong Dac Khanh, a player from the same generation as Nguyen Trong Hoang, Hoang Van Binh, Au Van Hoan… Unfortunately, the former Vietnam U23 national team player (in 2009) lost his career due to his gambling addiction. In 2010, the defender from Quynh Luu had to end his playing career at the age of 23 (he was dismissed by SLNA).
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| Former left-back Truong Dac Khanh during his time playing for SLNA. Photo: SLNA FC |
After Truong Dac Khanh left Vinh Stadium, the number 13 jersey of SLNA was gradually forgotten by football fans in Nghe An province. It wasn't until the 2015 season, with the return of "former player" Nguyen Van Vinh from Quang Nam Club, that the number 13 jersey appeared regularly in the SLNA lineup. In that season, the former Vietnam U16 midfielder (from 2000) made 8 appearances for the Nghe An team.
In the following season (2016), the number 13 jersey remained with Nguyen Van Vinh. However, entering the 2017 season, the former midfielder, born in 1984, unexpectedly abandoned his familiar number 13 jersey to wear the number 7 jersey, previously worn by Nguyen Phi Hung and Ngo Hoang Thinh. Once again, the number 13 was not printed on the back of the Vinh-based team's jerseys. Since then, the number 13 jersey at the Nghe An team has yet to find a new owner.
The fate of the number 13 jersey at SLNA is truly unfortunate!
