Goalkeeper Tan Truong and the chance to 'pay off debt' against Malaysia?

SEA Games 2009 Final

At the tournament held in Laos, Bui Tan Truong was the number 1 goalkeeper of U23 Vietnam, under the guidance of coach Henrique Calisto. From the group stage until the last official minute of the final match, the goalkeeper from Dong Thap played very well. Unfortunately, Bui Tan Truong made a mistake at the most important moment and had no chance to correct his mistake.

Perhaps up to this point, the goalkeeper from Dong Thap still cannot overcome the obsession every time the name Malaysia is mentioned.

Due to Bui Tan Truong's slow reaction to the own goal of defender Mai Xuan Hop in the 89th minute, U23 Vietnam had to accept a bitter defeat and sadly watch the U23 Malaysia players step up to the podium to receive the Gold Medal. Bui Tan Truong himself has admitted many times that the loss of U23 Vietnam in the final match of SEA Games 2009 was due to his own mistake.

However, most experts and Vietnamese football fans sympathize with Bui Tan Truong, instead of the usual criticism. Because everyone understands that if he had not been injured and had not had to play with pain, the former goalkeeper of Dong Thap and B.Binh Duong would have done better in the above situation. However, for Bui Tan Truong, it is still a haunting, tormenting memory.

AFF Cup 2010 semi-final first leg

Bui Tan Truong failed to catch the ball, leading to Vietnam's second loss in the first leg of the AFF Cup 2010 semi-finals. Photo courtesy

During the away match in Malaysia on October 15, 2010, Bui Tan Truong made a very elementary mistake, causing Vietnam to lose 0-2 to the team nicknamed "the Malaysian Tigers". This is one of the most unfortunate "accidents" of the goalkeeper born in 1986 in the Vietnam National Team's jersey up to now.

In the 61st minute of the match held at Bukit Jalil Stadium, Bui Tan Truong missed the ball after a header from striker Sali Safee was not really dangerous. Before the match ended (79th minute), Vietnam had to concede another goal, also due to goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong's mistake (he failed to catch the ball, creating an opportunity for Sali Safee to complete his double).

Losing to Malaysia with a score of 0-2 in the first leg had a big impact on the fighting spirit of the Vietnamese players. Despite their best efforts, Le Cong Vinh and his teammates could not create a comeback against the opponent team and had to accept leaving My Dinh Stadium with a 0-0 draw. Do not forget, Vietnam at that time was the reigning AFF Cup champion.

It is almost certain that in the match between Vietnam and Malaysia in the 7th match of Group G of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Coach Park Hang-seo will continue to include Bui Tan Truong in the starting lineup. Experts and football fans in the country are hoping that the goalkeeper of Hanoi Club will play excellently to help Vietnam achieve a positive result against Malaysia, a team with many fates./.