Once a 'rare gem' of Vietnamese football, Pham Manh Hung's 'long slide' leaves behind regrets

From youth tournaments, Manh Hung has quickly affirmed his class and his rare ability to command the defense of a young player. Not only is he a center-back with an intelligent and fierce playing style, Manh Hung is also a formidable free kick taker.

At the 2010 National U17 tournament, Manh Hung, as captain, brought his team to the finals with 3 goals, all from set pieces. When watching the player born in 1993 play for the youth teams, people have reason to expect a promising steel center back for SLNA in the future.

Manh Hung will fight with all his might for SHB Da Nang. Photo by Viet Dinh

Pham Manh Hung is a rare case in Vietnamese football and SLNA. Because only 1 year later, Manh Hung was specially promoted to the first team to practice with the senior players. However, a torn ligament injury prevented the player born in 1993 from having the opportunity to show his performance in V.League 2011 and 2012.

In V.League 2013, Coach Huu Thang's trust in his student was also rewarded. Playing in the center of the Nghe An team's defense, Manh Hung "surpassed" Ngoc Hai to become the number 1 choice to pair with Huy Hoang with 19 matches, 18 official appearances. His youth and natural qualities of a good center back helped Manh Hung not encounter many difficulties in marking the "Westerner", blocking the opponent's attacks.

That year, SLNA only lacked a bit of luck to finish in 2nd place overall, even having the ability to compete for the championship. And SLNA's success in V.League 2013 also witnessed the remarkable progress of Pham Manh Hung.
Playing well in V.League, Manh Hung was able to wear the national team jersey in a friendly match against Arsenal, a match that marked the outstanding success of the young talent of SLNA. At that time, Manh Hung was only 20 years old. His strong and dedicated playing style in SLNA jersey helped Manh Hung score points and be highly valued in the national team jersey and was the number 1 hope of U23 Vietnam at SEA Games 27.
However, when success came too soon, Pham Manh Hung began to show signs of decline. Complicated social relationships, combined with a lack of awareness of professional living style, made the young talent of SLNA gradually lose himself.

Center back Pham Manh Hung disappeared in SHB Da Nang shirt. Photo: FBNV

V.League 2014 witnessed consecutive regrettable mistakes of this central defender. Without leader Huy Hoang, Manh Hung should have become the support for his teammates, but in the second season, he only played 12 matches and Que Ngoc Hai gradually rose. The consolation for Manh Hung in 2014 was the championship with U21 SLNA, along with the Bronze Medal of SEA Games 28 in Singapore. In 2015, his impressive performance in the U23 Asian Qualifiers made Vietnamese football fans gradually know Hung "crossbar".

In the last 3 years playing for SLNA, Manh Hung also could not perform as expected. In all 3 seasons, he played a total of 6 times as a starter and received 6 penalty cards. There were times when Manh Hung was arranged by coach Duc Thang to play left-back because he could not compete with other central defenders. However, at the end of V.League 2018, Manh Hung was forced to leave to find a new future with the hope of finding back what he had lost.
Coming to SHB Da Nang from V.League 2019, being given opportunities by coach Le Huynh Duc right from the matches, what Manh Hung showed was only 4 yellow cards, 1 red card and being sent off the field in 9 matches of the first leg. Meeting SLNA again at Chi Lang Stadium, it should have been an opportunity for Manh Hung to show off, but he was the one who made a fatal mistake that allowed Quang Tinh to seize the opportunity to increase the score to 2 - 0.
And as a result, Manh Hung has now almost lost his position in the SHB Da Nang coaching staff's tactical scheme. The last time SHB Da Nang played away against SLNA, the player born in 1993 was no longer on the registration list. People questioned Manh Hung's form and once again regretted a real talent. Life is like football, there is no such thing as "if only".