Goalkeeper Van Hoang: Cherish every opportunity to shine

Born and raised in the countryside of Tan Long, Tan Ky district, goalkeeper Nguyen Van Hoang (born in 1995) has helped his parents with farming since he was a child. Therefore, it is not surprising that Van Hoang possesses a strong body with excellent health and endurance.

Goalkeeper Nguyen Van Hoang's family. Photo: NVCC

Unlike his brothers, Van Hoang showed his passion for football from a young age. Hoang was a naughty boy, often sneaking out of his parents to play football with his friends. So when he turned 15, seeing a football "storage" recruiting, Hoang asked his parents to let him join.

“At first we didn’t agree because we thought football had no future. If Hoang couldn’t study, he should finish grade 12 and then go to vocational school. But then we saw that he was insistent, so we had to let him take the exam once to satisfy our desire,” said Van Hoang’s mother.

The next morning, Hoang's father drove his son to Tan Ky district center to take the exam. No one expected that, on the first time he applied, Hoang was accepted and joined the VST youth football training "furnace". This training "furnace" was later bought by Hanoi T&T and renamed VSH T&T Youth Football Training Company.

Hoang's journey to his dream of playing football is a little closer. After receiving the news of his admission, Hoang went to Cua Lo Town to attend training and was able to join Saigon Club as a reserve goalkeeper, because his senior Tong Duc An was already there to guard the goal.

Goalkeeper Van Hoang. Photo: FBNV

“Because he has to follow the club all the time, he rarely comes back, but he often calls his parents to ask about their health. He brags that he has been on the field a few times in the 2016 V-League season and even started as a goalkeeper. We are also very happy, so we told him to take it slow and not to be impatient” - Van Hoang’s mother shared, adding that because he has few opportunities, Hoang always tries to make the most of them and perform as well as possible when on the field.

It was thanks to his tireless efforts that the 1995-born goalkeeper caught the eye of coach Park Hang Seo and was included in the squad for the AFC U23 Championship. In fact, the Korean coach also gave Hoang the opportunity to play in two friendly matches against Uzbekistan U23 and Ulsan Hyundai. In particular, in the match against Uzbekistan, Van Hoang received many compliments for his impressive reflexes.

Goalkeeper Nguyen Van Hoang in the U23 Vietnam team jersey. Photo: NVCC

“On February 2, the club called Hoang to the training camp again. Before leaving, Hoang told us that even though he didn’t play any matches, he learned many lessons and gained some experience at the recent U23 Finals,” Hoang’s mother shared, hoping that her son would try harder to prove himself in the future.

After the victory of the U23 Vietnam team, the public paid special attention to the players. Like his teammates, goalkeeper Van Hoang was closely followed by fans on social networks. With his handsome appearance and outstanding height of 1m86, many female fans admitted to having "fallen head over heels" for this goalkeeper from Nghe An. Currently, Hoang's Facebook account has had more than 40,000 followers in a few days.

Awarding Certificate of Merit from Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee to the second goalkeeper of U23 Vietnam

(Baonghean.vn) - On the afternoon of February 1, the Department of Culture and Sports organized a meeting and awarded goalkeeper Nguyen Van Hoang, Vietnam U23 team.