A conversation with the "little boy" of SLNA.

(Baonghean.vn) - Known as the "little boy," he's the type of striker that Indonesian and Thai defenders dread facing. Despite his small stature, standing only 1.62m tall, he moves intelligently, skillfully weaving through defenders within a 16.5m radius, appearing and disappearing in an instant, and scoring goals with a powerful shot. To date, Mr. Van Sy Chi's family is the only one with four children playing together in the SLNA team, with many matches featuring Van Sy Hung, Van Sy Son, and Van Sy Thuy all playing together.

Except for Van Sy Linh, who only played for SLNA for a short time, the three Van Sy brothers have contributed to SLNA for many years. Broadly speaking, not only in SLNA but also in Vietnamese football, there are few families like theirs; if you count the total number of medals, they would undoubtedly be among the top.

Despite his small stature, Van Sy Hung always makes his opponents wary because of his speed and cunning playing style - Photo: Internet

I met Van Sy Hung at Noi Bai Airport, as he was preparing to fly to Nha Trang to attend the National U19 Championship (in which Hanoi T&T U19 would play the final) in his capacity as Director of the Hanoi T&T Youth Football Training Center. Looking back, he recalled the memories of 1997, the image of the young man from Nghe An at the Senayan Stadium during the SEA Games 19, a venue with a capacity of nearly 100,000 people.

The Vietnamese team conceded the first goal in the 18th minute from striker Bima Sakti, followed by a red card for center-back Do Khai. In the 58th minute, midfielder Quang Ha took a free kick, and Van Sy Hung seized the opportunity, running across the face of goal and striking the ball into the far corner to equalize.

To this day, this is still considered one of the most beautiful goals in Vietnamese football history, and naturally, it was the most spectacular individual goal by Van Sy Hung. Indonesia then took a 2-1 lead until the 90th minute. When everyone thought defeat was imminent for the Vietnamese team, Huynh Duc passed the ball, and Van Sy Hung, with lightning speed, weaved the ball between two Indonesian defenders and chipped it over the goalkeeper, equalizing the score at 2-2 and silencing the Senayan stadium. A week later, leading Southeast Asian sports newspapers were still talking about Van Sy Hung, the Vietnamese national team, and SLNA, the nickname "littleboy" that emerged from that impressive match.

At the age of 16, "little boy" Van Sy Hung was sent by his father, Van Sy Chi, who had once played for The Cong, to try out for the Air Defense and Air Force team. He then went on to play for the Thanh Hoa Police team, culminating in leading them to promotion to the A1 league in 1992.

However, Van Sy Hung's golden age came while playing for SLNA, winning two national championships in 2000 and 2001. He then went on to win two more championships with HA.GL in 2003 and 2004, three National Cups, and four Super Cups. In 2004, Van Sy Hung retired from football while playing for Khai Hoan Hotel in the First Division, ending a glorious playing career.

During his five years playing for the Vietnamese national team, this diminutive striker won a bronze medal at the 1996 Tiger Cup, a bronze medal at the 1997 SEA Games, a silver medal at the 1998 Tiger Cup, and a silver medal at the 1999 SEA Games…

But Van Sy Hung still said: "For me, the 2000 championship with SLNA is still the sweetest memory, a championship that the people of Nghe An have waited for so long. That year, with 43 points after 24 rounds, SLNA rightfully won the championship, and my brother, Van Si Thuy, was the top scorer, winning the 'Top Scorer' title. On that momentum, a few months later we crushed Saigon Port 2-0, winning the Super Cup as well."

The life of Văn Sỹ Hùng in his football career was not only filled with glory but also with pain and bruises. He broke his leg seven times, the last time requiring seven pins and leaving him immobile for months. This happened during a match between SLNA and Makassar in the 2000 AFC Cup at Hàng Đẫy Stadium. Văn Sỹ Hùng scored a beautiful goal from a free kick, but SLNA still easily lost 1-4, and the highlight was the very serious injury he suffered. Immediately after the malicious tackle by the Makassar defender (Indonesia), television viewers heard Văn Sỹ Thủy's desperate scream, "Brothers, Hùng has broken his leg!"

Continuing the conversation, Van Sy Hung confided: "What I'm most proud of, throughout my career as a player, is that I can confidently say I've played fairly. You know, in the 90s, there weren't even beds in the house, and someone brought a whole sack of money and placed it in the middle of the house. I thanked them but politely declined."

Since 2000, after retiring from their playing careers, the Van Sy brothers established Vietnam's first youth football center in Cua Lo, named VSH. This center provides talent for the HN.T&T youth football training center in My Dinh, Hanoi.

Speaking about the "Song Lam Nghe An - The Pride of Nghe An" competition, he shared his feelings: "It's great, the competition is so meaningful. When we were playing football, we were always focused on the pitch. Now we have the opportunity to see what the audience thinks about SLNA and our generation back then. It's a chance for us to relive those memories."

Nguyen Thanh Toan