Steel center back Huy Hoang and memories of Asian Cup then and now

Historical achievements of Vietnamese football

Before Vietnam won the AFF Cup 2008, reaching the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup 2007 was the greatest success of Vietnamese football.

The 2007 Asian Championship was hosted by 4 Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Vietnam national team is in group B with very strong teams such as UAE, Qatar and Japan.

The real earthquake happened at My Dinh Stadium when Huy Hoang and his teammates defeated UAE with a score of 2-0, drew with Qatar 1-1 and only suffered a heavy 1-4 defeat against candidate Japan. Vietnam national team won the right to play in the quarter-finals as the second team in the group with 4 points. Being the only team in Southeast Asia to make it to the round of 8 strongest teams, it was truly a historic achievement for the country's football at that time.

Huy Hoang at Asian Cup 2007. Photo: NVCC

The person who played with Huy Hoang that year was center back Nhu Thanh. The defender of The Cong once shared: “Huy Hoang was the best center back in Vietnamese football at that time. The Asian Cup was the tournament where I played very successfully with Hoang, it was truly a sweet memory in our careers.”

Nhu Thanh and Huy Hoang played excellently, contributing greatly to helping the Vietnam national team pass the group stage in 2007. Huy Hoang played as a strong and determined central defender, while Nhu Thanh was a defender with great intelligence and judgment. The central defender pair seemed to be born to play together.

Although stopping at the quarterfinals after losing 0-2 to Iraq, the Vietnamese national team still made the whole of Southeast Asia proud because it was the only team in the region to reach the quarterfinals of a continental tournament.

Peace after career

Both Huy Hoang and Nhu Thanh had quite complicated lives off the field during their playing days. They were very talented, but also had many flaws. Therefore, both Huy Hoang and Nhu Thanh had to pay the price for their big mistakes.

Now, Huy Hoang is the assistant coach of SLNA, and Nhu Thanh is living the most peaceful and happy days as a football teacher for young players.

At the end of his career, it was thought that Huy Hoang had lost everything. However, SLNA understood that in the person who was once a leader, there was always a heavy burden of love, love for his hometown team, and affection for his colleagues when he was still playing. Huy Hoang's loyalty to SLNA until now is still a sacred thing that Nghe An fans always recognize in him.

SLNA did not hesitate to extend a hand to support Huy Hoang in difficult times. With a player considered a symbol of Nghe An, Huy Hoang is very suitable for the role of youth football training. After a period of dedication, he was considered by the club to become the assistant coach of SLNA's first team.

Deputy coach Nguyen Huy Hoang (SLNA). Photo: Trung Kien

In his new role, Coach Huy Hoang is really much more responsible: “I still have to try very hard, coaching has its own characteristics. In daily life, as a senior, I always have to try to create a disciplined lifestyle, and be aware of being truly professional.” Huy Hoang shared with the writer.

Huy Hoang's current task is to be in charge of physical fitness, besides that he also has the role of instructing the defenders to limit mistakes and even practicing aerial combat for the goalkeepers.

After every match, SLNA's assistant coach in charge of fitness is the last one to leave. He takes care of the logistics for his teammates before heading to the car. No one can believe that a once highly sought-after player has become so quiet and withdrawn.

After his job as a teacher, Huy Hoang returned to his beloved family. “If I stay out late now, who will look after my children?”. That was still the sharing of his old teammate Nhu Thanh. It seems that this is even more true for Huy Hoang now.