Bad luck never stops haunting Nguyen Manh

At the AFF Cup 2014, Nguyen Manh made the most unforgettable mistake of his career. In the 85th minute of the match, Indonesian player Samsul broke into the Vietnamese penalty area and shot in vain. The shot was not strong enough to hit goalkeeper Nguyen Manh. But unexpectedly, the Vietnamese goalkeeper fumbled and let the ball slip through his legs, helping Indonesia get a valuable equalizer.

This can be considered the first bad luck of this national-class goalkeeper. After this shock, Nguyen Manh's door to returning to the Vietnam national team has been challenged time and time again.

Nguyen Manh's mistake at AFF Cup 2016. Photo: AFF Cup

Two years after the incident in Indonesia, in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2016 semi-final against Indonesia, Nguyen Manh received a red card for kicking Bayu Pradana in the back. This was a childish mistake by Nguyen Manh that put his team in a difficult position and they had to accept defeat against Indonesia in extra time.

The most unfortunate time for Nguyen Manh was probably at the AFC Cup 2018. In the match between SLNA and Tampines Rovers in Singapore, the goalkeeper of the Nghe An team unfortunately broke his arm after trying to jump up to block the ball. That terrible injury put Nguyen Manh at risk of early retirement.

After a year of treatment and rehabilitation, Nguyen Manh's name gradually faded in the eyes of Vietnamese fans. Even for many people, the chance for the SLNA captain to regain his form with such a "terrifying" injury is not much. With extraordinary efforts, Nguyen Manh returned to V.League 2019 with an impressive performance that made everyone admire. In V.League 2019, Nguyen Manh still showed his excellent reflexes and his leadership style of play. Nguyen Manh is one of SLNA's best players in the 2019 season up to now.

With what he has shown in the SLNA shirt, Nguyen Manh has caught the eye of coach Park Hang-seo. At the King's Cup 2019, the goalkeeper from Nghe An was named by the Korean strategist to participate as a reserve for Van Lam. However, being called up to the national team after a year of "struggle" due to injury is still a great achievement for the goalkeeper from Do Luong.

Returning to SLNA, Nguyen Manh still maintained a stable performance, helping SLNA's defense play solidly. Nguyen Manh's chance to be called up to the national team to prepare for the match against Thailand in the 2019 World Cup qualifiers is very bright. However, the people chosen were Tuan Manh (Khanh Hoa) and Nguyen Van Cuong of QNK Quang Nam. A difficult decision to explain by the Korean coach. For many people, Nguyen Manh deserved to be given a better chance.

No need to wait too long, after only one month, Nguyen Manh was included in the preliminary list of the Vietnam national team to prepare for the matches against Malaysia and Indonesia. The opportunity for Nguyen Manh to assert himself in this training session is considered to be positive.

Once again, Nguyen Manh had bad luck when he was removed from the national team due to injury. Photo: VOV

However, bad luck once again called Nguyen Manh’s name. After an effort to save the ball, Nguyen Manh had a problem with his elbow, a “silly” injury that forced him to rest for more than 2 weeks. The opportunity to accompany the team temporarily ended for Nguyen Manh.

Fans of Nghe An will of course feel sorry for Nguyen Manh because the expectations for him are very high. SLNA fans hope that this is an opportunity for both Nguyen Manh and Xuan Manh, players who have always suffered from injuries, to score points and create a place in the eyes of coach Park. However, once again, the two words "injury" haunt the goalkeeper of Nghe An.

With this injury, it will be difficult for Nguyen Manh to return to play in the last two matches of SLNA in V.League 2019. Not only that, with this injury, Nguyen Manh will face many difficulties in the remaining period of his career because at the end of this year, his contract with SLNA will expire, whether he stays or finds a new destination is still an unanswered question. Meanwhile, Nguyen Manh's history of elbow injuries seems to have not been completely cured, whether he can return to 100% of his original form or not is still a big problem.