Return to the hometown of "Vietnamese Messi" to watch the final

(Baonghean.vn) - We returned to the land of fire My Son, Do Luong district, but not as pilgrims commemorating the event, but to enjoy the football atmosphere with the family members of striker Nguyen Cong Phuong - Captain of the U19 Vietnam team.

The old, small house of Cong Phuong's family is located next to the Cultural House of Hamlet 6, My Son Commune. Currently, the old house has been partially demolished and replaced by a new, solid, three-room, one-story house being built. It is known that the funding for the construction of the new house comes from the reward from Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc for "Messi Vietnam" after reaching the final round of the U20 Asia... The small yard with rows of banana trees and areca trees in front of the house is littered with sand and mortar; inside the new house, Mr. Nguyen Cong Bay - Cong Phuong's father is directing the plastering of several walls. Mr. Bay shared: We have to build a house, uncle, I'm afraid of the house collapsing in the storm. The house was started on June 4, and is expected to be completed in about half a month. The house construction is unfinished, I really want to go to My Dinh to watch my son play but I have to give up, only his mother, younger sister and eldest brother from Binh Duong came to watch.

Cong Phuong's whole family and neighbors gathered to watch the final match between Vietnam and Japan.

My Son is now in harvest season; other families have basically finished harvesting and brought the rice home to dry, while Cong Phuong's family has 4 sao of ripe rice still lying in the field near their house. Lacking manpower, Mr. Bay has to wait for his wife, Mrs. Hoa, to return from Hanoi, then borrow some relatives to help harvest... At 4 p.m. on September 13, Mr. Nguyen Cong Bay took a break from cooking and preparing tea to serve the neighbors to watch football in the evening. In the previous matches between U19 Vietnam and U19 Australia, U19 Japan, U19 Myanmar, his house was packed with people coming to watch and share. The family's TV (given by Phuong's teammates in U19 Vietnam) was brought out to the middle of the yard, everyone spread out mats to watch football.

Do Luong has been living in a passionate football atmosphere these days. Wherever you go, you hear people talking about how well the U19 Vietnam team plays. On village football fields, in fields that have just been harvested, children in My Son, Nhan Son, and Minh Son play with the ball, playing the role of "watching Cong Phuong dribble the ball". In Do Luong district town, the district stadium is being repaired, and some people are just leaving it so that on the afternoon of September 14, the U21 Song Lam Nghe An team will have a friendly match with U21 Ninh Binh here. On the street, cars carrying sound systems are actively inviting people to come and watch the match tomorrow. At the Cultural and Sports Center, some mothers bring their little boys down to register for the youth football training class. In recent years, Do Luong youth football has always achieved many high achievements in provincial tournaments as well as introduced many young talents to the Song Lam Nghe An Football Club.

At 6:00 p.m., Mr. Truong Quang Vinh, former coach of the youth football training class of Do Luong district, was the first teacher of Cong Phuong to end his tennis match early and go home to prepare to watch the final match of U19 Vietnam - U19 Japan. In his eyes, Cong Phuong will always be a good student who loves football immensely. He will always remember the image of the skinny Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoa, twice a week, carrying her son on a dilapidated bicycle over 20 km of bumpy, steep roads from My Son to the district center to practice football; he still clearly remembers the times Cong Phuong returned from Gia Lai for Tet holiday, often with his father, Mr. Bay, to visit and wish his old teacher a happy new year. Mr. Truong Quang Vinh is very proud of his student and according to him, the whole Do Luong district is proud to have such a football talent. Mr. Vinh shared: To be successful, you need passion, behind that is the heart and care of your parents. And to have a U19 Vietnam team playing as well as it is now, the credit goes to Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Bay could not go to My Dinh to cheer on his son because the construction of the new house was still in disarray.

At 7 pm, at the house across from Mr. Nguyen Cong Bay's family, there were 4-5 people, neighbors, and relatives who came to watch football. It was raining heavily, and everyone was busy collecting the rice in the yard to dry so that it wouldn't get wet, so Mr. Bay's house wasn't as crowded as usual. But to prepare for more people coming, Mr. Bay arranged some extra chairs next to the bed right in front of the TV screen. Everyone was chatting and analyzing the game situation, the balance of power between U19 Vietnam and U19 Japan. Everyone hoped that U19 Vietnam would win and Cong Phuong would score. Mr. Tran Tuan Long, Mr. Bay's neighbor, said: "People in Do Luong are big football fans; in the past, every time Song Lam played, we would take a bus down to watch. Anyone who is a fan of beautiful football would be really happy to see U19 Vietnam play. And if you are happy, you have to share, so we went to Mr. Bay's house to watch football, both to cheer for the team and to encourage Mr. Bay's family."

The atmosphere of watching football in the small house was very bustling: On My Dinh Stadium, the applause was loud, and down here, there were boisterous applauses, "Come on" was shouted by everyone; There were shouts, comments and discussions were very lively. The two teams knew each other too well, so in such a tight match, not many opportunities were created. The storm in front of the goal of the U119 Vietnam team, everyone was silent and tense; The attacks of Van Toan and Cong Phuong were unsuccessful, the fans at Mr. Bay's house sighed with regret. When Cong Phuong was in pain, everyone was very worried - On the haggard, dark face of the 58-year-old man Nguyen Cong Bay, it seemed heavy, his eyes did not leave the screen, and it seemed his heart was beating faster...

After the first half, Mr. Nguyen Cong Bay went to the kitchen to pour more tea for everyone. He himself went to the tea table outside to shoot a few tobacco balls and chew a piece of betel. I don't know how the players on the field are feeling right now, but in the afternoon, Mr. Bay at home is very tense. Talking, Mr. Bay told about a day not too long ago, 7 years ago, he and his father took a bus from Nghe An to Gia Lai to compete in the preliminary rounds and the finals. During that month, he and his father made the journey from Nghe An to Gia Lai and back 6 times. The family was poor, so to take their children to compete and study, the family had to sell off agricultural products and livestock... Before the second half started, the rain stopped, and Mr. Bay's neighbors came over to watch. Mr. Bay hurriedly left the tea table and went inside to spread 2 more mats on the floor to have more seats.

Mr. Nguyen Thai Duc, Phuong's neighbor, excitedly said: "Not only the uncles came to watch, but also the young people in the neighborhood came here. Watching football is more fun when there are more people. The brothers come to watch together to gain more strength and cheer for Phuong and the other players to play better"... U19 Vietnam conceded a goal, but the football atmosphere at Mr. Bay's family did not cool down but became more exciting. Although they knew that the players on the stadium could not hear, the shouts of "cross the ball" "pass the ball" were still actively directed by the fans under the TV screen. More than 20 spectators at Mr. Bay's family became 20 commentators, coaches and even tacticians: The lost goal was analyzed for errors, the team's formation was very tight - a more experienced approach to the match; Vietnam should have been awarded a penalty when Cong Phuong was fouled in the penalty area... And finally, it seems that the balance of power of U19 Vietnam is still weaker than U19 Japan. Our players have played to the best of their abilities and need to "practice their skills" more in the future.

U19 Vietnam once again missed the championship. The whole country's audience was disappointed once again, but they did not feel sad because the players played so well, the way U19 Vietnam played touched the hearts of the fans. Watching U19 Vietnam play football, football fans in Do Luong in particular and the whole country in general had more confidence in the future of national football.... The match ended, the football viewers at home "Messi Vietnam" still lingered, not wanting to go home. They were still busy discussing the match, watching the afternoon was a bit more tense. Mr. Nguyen Cong Bay confided: "The joy is not complete, but my son and his teammates played well. Through each match, the players become more mature, Cong Phuong needs to learn more about the efficiency of the Japanese"./.

Thanh Son