Midfielder Phan Ba Quyen and his mark in the first V.League season
In a season where Song Lam Nghe An continuously had a crisis in the central defender position, and the central midfielders were all young, Phan Ba Quyen showed his maturity and role in the tactical scheme of the Nghe An team.
Phan Ba Quyen was born in 2002 in Yen Thanh, the same generation as his teammate, goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet - the number 1 goalkeeper of Song Lam Nghe An at the moment. At this age, the input of the Song Lam Nghe An training "furnace" is not really good and is not cared for and invested much, but under the hands of the coaches, Ba Quyen or Van Viet show solid steps in their careers.
Playing in many different positions in the youth teams of Song Lam Nghe An, Phan Ba Quyen's chance to play in V.League 2022 was very high. However, at that time, the Nghe team brought in a series of good players such as Que Ngoc Hai, Pham Xuan Manh as well as prioritized using foreign players for the central midfielder position. Unable to compete for a place in V.League, Phan Ba Quyen was "sent" by the leadership of the Nghe team to Vinh Phuc in the Second Division and Binh Phuoc in the First Division.
In Binh Phuoc's shirt, Ba Quyen regularly played in the main squad in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. This young player was once named by coach Dinh The Nam in the list of U23 Vietnam to prepare for the 2022 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. However, after that, at the U23 Asian Finals, coach Gong Oh-kyun did not pay attention to him.
In the 2023/24 season, after months of wandering, accumulating experience playing in foreign countries and an impressive performance at the 2023 National U21 Finals, coach Phan Nhu Thuat finally included Ba Quyen in the list of players participating in the V.League. This is a correct decision by coach Phan Nhu Thuat because Ba Quyen can not only play in the position of central midfielder but he can also play well in the position of central defender.
In the context of Song Lam Nghe An being seriously lacking in central defenders due to injuries, Ba Quyen always did well as a substitute. And when placed in the central midfielder position, Ba Quyen played even better, leaving a strong impression in the hearts of fans. After 22 matches, Ba Quyen was the player with the most appearances, just behind foreign player Michael Olaha, Mario Zebic and goalkeeper Van Viet.
With a height of 1m75, not too tall, but the strength of a defensive midfielder like Ba Quyen is the ability to compete, judge situations, press and deploy the ball. Not only that, Ba Quyen also has 1 goal, contributing to helping the home team defeat the strong team Quy Nhon Binh Dinh. In the most recent match, Ba Quyen almost tightly held the stars of Nam Dinh such as Duc Huy, Tuan Anh, Khac Ngoc right at Thien Truong stadium.
After the first leg of the V.League 2023/24, Nghe An fans felt regretful when they did not see Phan Ba Quyen participate in the 2024 AFC U23 Finals. However, up to this point in the V.League arena, Ba Quyen is a pillar of the club with 1571 minutes of play, 18/19 starting matches, more and more impressive than any young midfielder at the age of U23 playing in the V.League.
More importantly, in a team with so many young players, the efforts of players like Ba Quyen have helped Nghe An fans gradually regain confidence in the team's fighting spirit. At the age of 22, Ba Quyen's opportunities are still ahead, but more importantly, if he continues to play consistently and has such progress and maturity, Phan Ba Quyen will become a "precious gem" of the Nghe An team in the near future./.
