Goodbye AFF Cup 2008 hero

Striker Nguyen Quang Hai of Than Quang Ninh, one of the Vietnamese heroes at the 2008 AFF Cup, has officially left his home team and retired from professional football after the 2016 V-League.

Quang Hai says goodbye to football at the age of 31. (Photo: Minh Chien/Vietnam+)

Quang Hai has been suffering from a persistent disc herniation for the past one or two years. At the age of 31, Quang Hai's injury treatment is quite complicated because he is old and his recovery ability is not as good as before.

In the 2016 V-League, Quang Hai only played five matches, including four times coming off the bench. Quang Hai's total playing time was only 181 minutes. Most of the season, Hai spent time in the hospital and with doctors. Before getting injured, Hai played 22 matches in the V-League last season.

Injuries, limited contributions to Than Quang Ninh and age have made Quang Hai decide to say goodbye. The match between Than Quang Ninh and Sanna Khanh Hoa, 3-1 on September 18, was the last time Quang Hai played for Quang Ninh.

The striker from Khanh Hoa was born on November 1, 1985. He started his career with Khatoco Khanh Hoa before moving to play for Navibank Saigon, Hai Phong and Than Quang Ninh. Quang Hai was also a member of the Vietnamese team that won the AFF Cup 2008.

The pinnacle of Quang Hai's career was the decisive goal scored against Singapore in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2008 semi-final. That goal brought Vietnam to the final of the tournament where we won the championship. Over the past ten years, Quang Hai has always been considered the top striker in Vietnam. He won the domestic top scorer award in the 2010 season with 13 goals, and held the transfer record in Vietnamese football - moving from Khanh Hoa to Navibank Saigon for 9 billion VND.

According to Vietnamplus