"The 'King of Architects' rose to prominence from amateur football."

Born in 1988, Xuan Tu's father is Nghiem Xuan Manh, a former player of the once-famous Vietnam Railways Club. However, Xuan Tu's path to professional football was not a bed of roses, but rather full of thorns and challenges. Xuan Tu grew up in the Hoa Phat Hanoi youth academy and he once helped the second-division team Hoa Phat-V&V get promoted.

Hardships in early life

Shortly afterwards, Mr. Thuy - the owner of Xuan Thanh Cement Group - reached an agreement with Hoa Phat V&V to exchange Xuan Thanh Ha Tinh's second-division participation slot for Hoa Phat V&V's promotion to the first division, starting from the 2011 season, and to relocate the team to Ho Chi Minh City. Tu "Ngua" learned that he had been excluded from the roster, along with the fact that he was diagnosed with colon cancer in his early twenties.

With 17 assists, Tú set a record in the history of the nation's top league. Photo: Internet

At that time, football was a remedy that helped him forget about his serious illness and rekindled his faith in life. Xuan Tu once shared that, because of his intense passion for football, he even gave up his final course of radiation therapy because he had already agreed to play amateur football with a friend.

There were times when, even though he had just undergone surgery and his stitches hadn't been removed yet, he would put on his shoes and play until he was exhausted and had to be rushed to the emergency room. A miracle happened; sports and the right medication helped him recover, and with his innate talent, Xuan Tu soon became a well-known amateur football star in Hanoi at that time.

In early 2013, fate smiled upon the young man from Hanoi when Xuan Tu received a phone call inviting him to a trial at Thanh Hoa Club from coach Mai Duc Chung, a colleague of his father.

After playing for Thanh Hoa for two years, Xuan Tu moved to Than Quang Ninh FC in the 2015 season, where he became a key player for the team from the mining region. In the past, Nghiem Xuan Tu also received an invitation for a trial at Kaiserslautern, a German team playing in the Bundesliga 2.

After three seasons playing for Than Quang Ninh, Tu experienced many unforgettable ups and downs with the team, but most memorable were the two National Cup and National Super Cup championships in 2016. That was also his most successful season with the team from the mining region. Tu was voted the best player of TQN Club with 10 assists.

Entering the 2018 season, fans in the Than region were somewhat worried when captain Vu Minh Tuan said goodbye to TQN Club to join FLC Thanh Hoa. But this was precisely the moment when right winger Nghiem Xuan Tu broke free from his teammate's shadow and shone.

Nghiem Xuan Tu is a skillful winger who can change direction with high speed and deliver accurate crosses. His perfectly placed passes always bring confidence to his teammates whenever he has the ball, making this number 77 midfielder the first choice of coach Phan Thanh Hung.

Fans in the Than region are still ecstatic about Tu's brilliant performance in the "Northeast Derby" against Hai Phong on the afternoon of September 8th in Round 21 of the V-League 2018. In that match, Tu scored a hat-trick, with two assists for Vinicius and Nguyen Sa and one goal, helping TQN take a 3-1 lead. This is something few Vietnamese players have ever achieved, especially someone who started relatively late like Tu "the horse".

I haven't had the chance to play for the national team yet.

With 17 assists – a record number in the history of the national top league – Nghiem Xuan Tu was considered the "king of assists" in V-League 2018. He was also included in the ideal team of this year's National Football Championship. It seemed as though the path to the national team would be smooth for this young man, but that wasn't the case.

This midfielder, wearing jersey number 77, has always been the first-choice player for coach Phan Thanh Hung. Photo: Internet

Under coach Huu Thang, Tu "the horse" was called up to the national team twice. However, he has yet to make his debut for the Vietnamese national team due to injury and other professional reasons. From the time of interim coach Mai Duc Chung as well as the era of coach Park Hang-seo, Nghiem Xuan Tu has never been called up to the national team.

It seems that Tú "the horse" has lower chances of making it onto the national team compared to his peers due to his lack of physical fitness, aerial ability, and the fact that his left foot isn't as skillful as his dominant foot.