Midfielder Ho Khac Ngoc - a Cesc Fabregas from Nghe An

(Baonghean) -With his extremely accurate long passes and skillful dribbling through a "forest" of opposing players to score goals, young midfielder Ho Khac Ngoc is likened to the football superstar of FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team - Cesc Fabregas.

Ho Khac Ngoc (number 15) at the U21 Cup Thanh Nien Newspaper 2013.

Born in 1992 in Ben Thuy ward (Vinh city), Ho Khac Ngoc was famous for his football talent since he was a small student at Ben Thuy Primary School. A member of the SLNA Fan Club said: “Although he is good at football, Ho Khac Ngoc is very gentle and timid like a coward, so his friends nicknamed him “Jade Emperor”. Ben Thuy Primary School has a football talent class opened by SLNA Club, and Khac Ngoc and I are two of the players in this talent class. At that time, I was a goalkeeper and was very impressed with Ho Khac Ngoc’s long-range shots like a bomb. Once, right after serving the ball, “Jade Emperor” immediately launched a shot like an arrow from the middle of the field, forcing me to go into the net to pick up the ball.”

Early revealed as a football talent, at only 11 years old, Ho Khac Ngoc was selected to join the Vinh City Youth and Children's Football Team to participate in the Provincial Youth and Children's Football Tournament for the Nghe An Newspaper Cup and was voted into the list of the best players of the final round. After being selected to the Song Lam Youth Team, midfielder Ho Khac Ngoc has always shown himself to be one of the bright stars in the youth teams of Nghe An Football Club. In 2009, in the role of Captain of U17 SLNA, Ho Khac Ngoc made the football world of the country mention his name when he played extremely well in the position of central midfielder to help U17 SLNA win the Championship for the 6th consecutive time at the National U17 Football Tournament for the Football Newspaper Cup. In 2011, at the National U19 Football Tournament for the Son Kova Cup, Ho Khac Ngoc continued to shine when he and Quang Nam created an extremely compatible duo that made all the defenses of the participating teams terrified. However, at the end of the tournament that year, SLNA only won the silver medal after losing to HN T&T after the 11m penalty shootout in the final match. However, 2011 also marked a new step forward for Ho Khac Ngoc when he was one of the four players promoted to the first team by coach Nguyen Huu Thang, along with Dinh Hoang, Manh Hung, and The Cuong.

Although he has not won a starting position in the first team in the 2012 and 2013 seasons because SLNA's midfield has many excellent, experienced and high-performing senior players such as Trong Hoang, Van Binh and foreign player Hector, every time he plays, Ho Khac Ngoc leaves a remarkable mark. Especially at the National U21 Football Tournament and the 2013 Thanh Nien Newspaper Cup U21 International Tournament, Ho Khac Ngoc has shone with performances that show his class and promises a bright future for this midfielder ahead. In the match between U21 Vietnam and U21 Malaysia, right at the 77th minute, after a series of coordination with his teammates, the ball was passed to Khac Ngoc, in an unfavorable position due to the siege of 5 opposing players, but the young midfielder from Nghe An still decided to dribble boldly straight into the penalty area. With a perfect technical foundation, he dribbled past 5 Malaysian defenders before unleashing a decisive shot to seal the 5-1 victory for U21 Vietnam. Ho Khac Ngoc's extremely beautiful goal not only made Nghe An fans but also football fans across the country excited, comparing it to Maradona's "super product" against the England team in the past.

Entering the 2014 season, Trong Hoang and Van Binh have joined Binh Duong, foreign midfielder Hector has also terminated his contract, the central midfielder position of SLNA now only has Ho Khac Ngoc and Phan Nhu Thuat. This is an opportunity for this young midfielder to shine and seek higher glory. Compared to Nhu Thuat, Khac Ngoc does not have as much experience, but in return is youthfulness. Even Khac Ngoc's long passes are considered to have higher accuracy than Nhu Thuat. In addition, Khac Ngoc also has a superior weapon compared to his senior: the ability to hold the ball and break through and score goals. Therefore, he will likely be the number 1 choice of Coach Nguyen Huu Thang in V.League 2014.

Hoang Hao