Goalkeeper Nguyen Manh reveals for the first time the reason for leaving SLNA

After 10 years of playing professionally for SLNA, Nguyen Manh said goodbye to the Nghe An team when V.League 2019 ended and joined Viettel Club with a 3-year contract. Before that, he was the best goalkeeper of the 2019 season with 9 clean sheets forSLNA, the goalkeeper who conceded the fewest goals.

Nguyen Manh's stats at V.League 2020. Photo courtesy

This season, Nguyen Manh has played 1,047 minutes for Viettel, and despite having to pick the ball out of the net 14 times, he has still shown that he is a top-class goalkeeper. He has successfully blocked the ball 24 times (63%).

In particular, Nguyen Manh had 10 saves for the home team, the number of successful entries and exits of the former SLNA captain was 32/34 (94%). In terms of launching attacks, Nguyen Manh had 7/10 successful times, accordingly the ability to pass the ball accurately of the goalkeeper born in 1991 was 83%.

Leaving SLNA to seek new challenges

Sharing the reason for leaving SLNA to join Viettel, Nguyen Manh said: “From the beginning, I always wanted to experience the feeling of having to strive and compete outside. Before coming to Viettel, I had aTrong HoangandNgoc Haisaid that the development environment at Viettel is quite good, from facilities to player care.

Nguyen Manh came to Viettel with the desire to seek more titles. Graphics: TK

Personally, I also want to find something new, a title outside of SLNA. When I first came here, it was a bit difficult at first. But the environment here is quite close, the teammates put their trust in me to help me integrate faster."

The saddest memory in my career

In the career of any goalkeeper, there are accidents. However, the mistake in the match against Indonesia in the semi-final of AFF Cup 2016 causedNguyen Manhalmost collapsed. However, after that defeat, Nguyen Manh made an impressive comeback and won the 2017 National Cup with SLNA.

“For me as a goalkeeper, there are many happy and sad memories. In the match against Indonesia, I was so sad that I couldn’t describe it. The match was fast and we were losing, at that time I just wanted to get the match back as quickly as possible. And then the team lost and was eliminated. Now there is no point in explaining. I had to receive countless criticisms, that was also a memorable lesson for me personally.

Nguyen Manh and unforgettable memories of 2016 at the AFF Cup. Photo: ST

Although there are many critics, there are also many fans, especially my family who always encourage me. In addition, Le Cong Vinh told me that I must quickly forget all the outside problems. The important thing is how I perform on the training ground. When I returned to SLNA, I was always trusted by coach Duc Thang and the leadership, helping me to come back stronger."

Desire to return to the team

In early 2018, Nguyen Manh suffered a serious injury in a match at the AFC Cup 2018 while playing for SLNA. Despite being out of action for a year, Nguyen Manh never gave up and continued to play well for SLNA.

In 2019, he was called up to the national team by coach Park Hang-seo but continued to suffer an elbow injury and returned home.SLNA Club, missed the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers. In the most recent training list, Nguyen Manh's name was also not on it. And that is the motivation for him to play well in Viettel Club's shirt.

Goalkeeper Nguyen Manh during the 2019 national team training session. Photo courtesy

“Coach Park Hang-seo is a regular attendee of V.League matches. For any player, it is a great opportunity to show himself to the national team coach. However, what I think about in every match is to focus on playing well, to contribute to the club to achieve the best results and win titles.

All Vietnamese players want to wear the national team jersey. I will continue to strive to have a good performance in Viettel Club's jersey. Recently, not being called up to the team also gave me the motivation to try harder. My friends and teammates all played well, there is no reason why I can't do it," Nguyen Manh shared.

Nghe An goalkeeper plays best in first leg of V.League 2020

(Baonghean.vn) - Statistics from Instat software have shown that the goalkeeper with the most comprehensive and stable performance in the past 11 rounds of V.League 2020 belongs to Tran Duc Cuong of B. Binh Duong.