Center back Phan Van Thanh and his path to the first team of Song Lam Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - With impressive performances at all levels of the Song Lam Nghe An youth team, Phan Van Thanh was soon promoted to the first team by coach Phan Nhu Thuat when he was just 18 years old. This will be an opportunity for this central defender to strive to open up a bright future for himself.
New environment, new opportunities
Phan Van Thanh is one of the three newest names from the youth team of Song Lam Nghe An football training center promoted by coach Phan Nhu Thuat to the first team in the mid-season transfer period of 2023/2024. This player born in 2006 is 1m 82 tall, with a strong position as a center back. This is a position that Song Lam Nghe An is currently lacking and weak in. Because in the hands of coach Phan Nhu Thuat, only Le Nguyen Hoang, Le Van Thanh, Mario Zebic are the players who are key to this position. The remaining veterans Dinh Hoang, Phan Ba Quyen, Tran Nam Hai... are all players who also hold the role of a stopper.
However, promoting Phan Van Thanh to the first team when he has just turned 18 is probably only to create a successor for Song Lam Nghe An in the following seasons.
If we look at the process that Phan Van Thanh has shown at the youth level, we can see that this is a model of a central defender with a fairly ideal physique, with a strong and decisive playing style. However, playing experience is still a weakness that Thanh needs to improve further, if he does not want to be left behind.
Stepping into a new environment, Phan Van Thanh was lucky to be trusted by coach Phan Nhu Thuat to be in the starting lineup in the match against SHB Da Nang in the 1/8 round of the 2024 National Cup. In this match, Van Thanh was paired with Le Nguyen Hoang in the center-back position. Only facing a team playing in the National First Division, the young center-back duo played quite well, successfully neutralizing most of the opponent's attacks. Van Thanh, with his own strengths, was good at blocking the passes between the center-back and the opponent's defenders. He showed his strength when always gaining the advantage in one-on-one battles with SHB Da Nang's attackers.
However, the only goal conceded by Song Lam Nghe An was partly the fault of this 2006-born central defender. In that conceding goal, Van Thanh did not have the necessary sensitivity, so the opponent took over his position to head the ball past goalkeeper Van Binh.
The loss is one of the lessons for Van Thanh to gain more experience to mature sooner.
Phan Van Thanh shared: “Being promoted to the first team of Song Lam Nghe An early is the dream of the majority of young players. And to stand firm in the new environment, I need to constantly learn from my seniors and try harder on the training ground. I realize that I still have many limitations in my ability to read situations, and my body is still quite “thin”. Therefore, in the coming time, I will continue to strive to improve myself. Hopefully, with my seriousness, I will soon create trust in the eyes of the Coaching Board of Song Lam Nghe An".
Dream of becoming a professional player
Phan Van Thanh's hometown is in Hung Nguyen district, but he soon followed his family to Vinh city to live. In 2017, Phan Van Thanh was selected by the Vinh city's youth football team to participate in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth - Children Football Tournament. In that season, the team of the player born in 2006 only made it to the quarter-finals.
However, with his talent, Phan Van Thanh caught the attention of the scouts of Song Lam Nghe An. Not long after that, this player was selected to join the Nghe An youth football training center. Starting as a winger, but with an ideal physique, Van Thanh was brought back by the coaches to play as a central defender. Also from this position, the player from Hung Nguyen has promoted his strengths and has always been the backbone of the youth teams of the Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center.
During his football career, Van Thanh contributed to bringing home the 2019 National Youth Championship for U13 Song Lam Nghe An; Bronze Medals for U17, U19 National; Silver Medal for U21 National.
Notably, at the 2024 National U19 Tournament, although U19 Song Lam Nghe An only won the Bronze Medal, Le Van Thanh played very well. Notably, in the final round, coach Huy Hoang's team (U19 Song Lam Nghe An) only conceded 3 goals. This is also one of the reasons why coach Phan Nhu Thuat chose Van Thanh to promote to the Song Lam Nghe An first team in the mid-season transfer period.
“At the 2024 National U19 tournament, coach Huy Hoang often arranged for Nguyen Mai Hoang and I to play as a central defender. With the understanding after many years of playing together, we supported each other quite well to neutralize many dangerous attacks from the opponent. Although we could not help our team reach the Gold Cup, we played with great effort. This is probably also a plus point that helped me to be present in the first team of Song Lam Nghe An. Being able to participate in the highest football environment in Vietnam will help me have the opportunity to realize my dream of playing professional football.”
