Sorry for Van Quyet and Phi Son!

Midfielder Dinh Thanh Trung won the 2017 Vietnam Golden Ball, this is indisputable because the midfielder from Ha Tinh deserves this title based on the criteria of contribution to the national team and domestic titles.

In the Silver or Bronze Ball award, if it weren’t for the obvious elbow on Nghiem Xuan Tu at the end of the season, the contributions of striker Nguyen Van Quyet to Hanoi FC and the national team in 2017 would certainly not have been denied and this striker would not have been removed from the nomination list. Once again, people wonder what criteria are actually used to nominate the Vietnam Golden Ball award? Is a dirty, dirty tackle on the field an ethical criterion for Golden Ball candidates?

In terms of contribution to the national team, striker Nguyen Van Quyet is not inferior to striker Nguyen Anh Duc, and even contributes more. In terms of domestic competition, this player is the leader in the achievement of winning the bronze medal of V.League 2017.

Striker Nguyen Van Quyet made a big impression in Hanoi FC. Photo: Internet

Looking back at history, since the time after the AFF Cup 2008 championship, the Vietnam Golden Ball title has always left certain scars. For example, in 2011, because no one was more deserving, this title was awarded to midfielder Pham Thanh Luong, a player playing for Hanoi ACB in the season when his club was relegated to the V.League.

In 2013, a year when everyone thought that Le Cong Vinh would win this title for his contributions to the national team and bringing Vietnamese football to international friends, the organizing committee decided to cancel this title; because that was the time when U23 Vietnam was eliminated from the group stage and the national team did not compete in important tournaments.

There was a time when the Vietnam Golden Ball lost its value and meaning. If the criteria of contribution to the national team was put first, then in 2015, a player who played outstandingly for his club but did not wear the national team shirt like Nguyen Anh Duc was honored. And once they do not wear the national team shirt, it means they have not contributed anything to the team shirt.

Midfielder Phi Son won the National Cup with SLNA. Photo: Archive

Vietnamese football has many paradoxes. The Golden Ball was once awarded to a player who was relegated from the same club, and also to a player who refused to play for the national team because of family matters. And this time, Phi Son - the National Cup champion and the best player of SLNA Club in 2017, was suddenly not honored, which really raises a big question mark. Meanwhile, striker Nguyen Anh Duc did not have any title with B. Binh Duong in the past year.

Once again, the SLNA midfielder's tireless efforts in the past season were not truly recognized, making the player somewhat discouraged. Accordingly, fans no longer believe in the purpose of the titles from the Vietnam Golden Ball Organizing Committee./.