Vu Quang Bao and the journey to glory

(Baonghean) -As a player, Vu Quang Bao played for two famous football teams, Song Lam Nghe An and The Cong. He retired and turned to coaching by chance, but this teacher from Nghia Dan went down in Vietnamese football history as the only person to date to bring two different clubs to win the First Division championship and a place in the V.League.

The turning point of Uncle Ho's soldier

In 1972, at the request of the war, the young man Vu Quang Bao (born in 1955) said goodbye to his family and relatives to join the army. In the early days, Vu Quang Bao's unit was stationed in Dien Lam commune, Dien Chau district. Here, after many months of military training, preparing to leave for the fierce battlefield of Quang Tri, Vu Quang Bao was suddenly called up by the commander and asked: Do you know how to play soccer?

At this time, Military Region 4 was preparing to participate in the all-army tournament, so they gathered their forces and Vu Quang Bao, along with another teammate from the selected unit, carried their backpacks to Son Tay commune, Huong Son district (Ha Tinh) to set up a training camp with 58 other recruits. After more than a year, the Military Region 4 football team was established and participated in the all-army tournament in 1975 held in Hanoi. That time, Vu Quang Bao and his teammates excellently won 3rd place overall.

In 1977, at the second all-army tournament held in Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa), the performance of Military Region 4 was better when they were only defeated in the final match. At this tournament, Vu Quang Bao played impressively and was summoned by The Cong to Hanoi to serve the industry's football team. From 1977 to 1980, in the colors of this famous football team, Vu Quang Bao traveled to many places, participated in many tournaments and had many beautiful memories in his memory.

Returning to the Military Zone 4 football team, in 1987, Vu Quang Bao was sent to study at the Central Sports University 1, Tu Son District (Bac Ninh). After graduation, the team was ordered to disband due to the requirements of the new situation. Vu Quang Bao, because he still had a desire to play football, joined Song Lam Nghe An. As a senior and experienced in the battle, Vu Quang Bao was assigned to wear the captain's armband for the Nghe An team from 1987 to 1992.

Fairy tales

At nearly 40 years old, his health was no longer good enough for intense matches, so Vu Quang Bao left Song Lam Nghe An to return to his hometown in Nghia Dan district to do business and also to make up for the loss of his wife and children during the days he was away because of his passion for football. He thought his football career was over, but after the year 2000, both Song Lam Nghe An and Military Region 4 asked Vu Quang Bao to return as a coach. After refusing for a long time, in 2003, Vu Quang Bao said goodbye to his family and packed his bags to go to Vinh to become the head coach for Military Region 4.

The team was established a long time ago, but the members were all soldiers who loved to play football in a grassroots style, so there was no organization. In the role of "architect", coach Vu Quang Bao gradually built the team from the first stones. Besides practicing and living with the team, Vu Quang Bao often went on trips to find talent in grassroots tournaments, of which the discovery of Truong Dinh Luat was an example.



Coach Vu Quang Bao when he was still at Military Region 4.

In 2008, the history of Military Zone 4 football team turned a new page when they excellently won the championship and a place to participate in V.League 2009. At that time, the championship of Military Zone 4 was like a fairy tale, because the majority of the team members were unknown soldiers, famous for the anecdote "1 bowl of pho and 2 duck eggs for each victory". In that success, besides the mark of Lieutenant General Doan Sinh Huong, Coach Vu Quang Bao was recognized with contributions that are difficult to describe in words.

After a year of strong competition and successful relegation to the V.League, Military Region 4 was disbanded, the team moved to Ho Chi Minh City with a new name N.Sai Gon. Coach Vu Quang Bao continued to pack up and leave, and from here, new challenges of the profession welcomed and continuously tested the patience of the former soldier. However, with the spirit of "steel has been tempered", Coach Vu Quang Bao still maintained his desire and lived and died with the profession. After XSKT.Can Tho and XSKT.Lam Dong, Coach Vu Quang Bao came to QNK.Quang Nam when this team was in crisis with poor results.

There was a lot of pressure, but with his ability to "inspire", Coach Vu Quang Bao re-energized the team and then, QNK.Quang Nam won consecutively and was crowned champion one round early.

Just like in Military Region 4 before, by bringing QNK.Quang Nam to the top flight, Vu Quang Bao has made millions of local fans happy. In the coaching career, not many people have that honor and of course, it reflects many values ​​about the person and career of this coach who started out as a soldier who loves football.

Vinh Liem