Xuan Manh U23 was speechless because of the 10 thousand dong gift his mother gave him at the airport

Going to the airport to pick up her son, seeing other parents carrying bright flowers, Mrs. Ha - mother of player Xuan Manh, couldn't help but feel confused. Fearing that her son would feel sad, she quickly bought a photo of Coach Park as a gift for him after a long time apart. The meeting was only a few minutes long but their tears flowed...

Picking up player Pham Xuan Manh at the airport was his mother, Mrs. Phan Thi Ha (born in 1966), from Minh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh, Nghe An. Born in a poor rural area, she had never stepped foot outside the bamboo fence of her village.

When Xuan Manh was accepted into the Song Lam Nghe An Football Club, she came from her hometown to Vinh City to take her son to school. “That was the first time I left the village,” she said.

"In my whole life, I have never gone anywhere outside my hometown (Nghe An), so the last time I went to Hanoi to pick up my son, my family was very worried," she added.

They were afraid she would get lost, so at the moment the TV broadcast live the scene of welcoming the players at the airport, family members and relatives crowded around the new TV in Mrs. Ha’s house to look for “Manh’s mother”. But the media mentioned many other names, images of player Xuan Manh and his mother were quite rare.

Although that time has passed for several days, this woman's heart is still troubled. Mrs. Ha said: "The first time I went to pick up my family at the airport, I didn't know I had to prepare flowers for my son. Honestly, before Manh and the U23 players returned home, my family prepared several trays of food to invite relatives and neighbors.

Then people came to congratulate and share the joy, making the couple so busy that they couldn’t prepare anything. So when I got to the airport, I didn’t have any flowers. Seeing the parents of other players holding bright flowers, I was extremely anxious. Afraid that my child would feel sad, I ran all over the airport but there was no place selling flowers…”

Finally, at Noi Bai airport, Mrs. Ha saw that they were selling many photos of players and Coach Park Hang Seo for 5 or 10 thousand VND each, she had an idea. She chose to buy the photo of the coach for 10 thousand VND as a gift for her son.

“I gave my child a photo of his teacher as a reminder of the tradition of respecting teachers,” she said.

She shared that the moment of waiting for her child at the airport was very exciting. “Honestly, I haven’t seen my child for a long time, I miss him very much. I only have a “brick” phone but it is rare to have a phone conversation so that my child can focus on the competition. I don’t know how to read the news online,” Ms. Ha confided.

Seeing the plane gradually land, tears welled up in her eyes. From behind the door, she shakily held the gift in her hand and joined the crowd to welcome her son. The son walked through the door, and the two of them hugged each other.

“After seeing my son for a few short minutes, Xuan Manh kept comforting him: “Mom, stop crying. I’m home.” The more he talked, the louder I cried,” Mrs. Ha recounted with tears in her eyes.

Then she gave her son the gift and explained: “Manh, I picked you up but I couldn’t buy you flowers. I gave you a picture of Mr. Park to remind you to always be grateful to the teachers who guided you and your teammates. Think of him as your father who is working hard at home.”

“Hearing what his mother said and looking at the photo, Manh was very emotional. After a moment of silence, he said: “I don’t like flowers either. You can buy me a photo of Coach Park. I have to go now, don’t cry anymore”. Then he left, that was all we got to see each other,” she recounted.

Going to Hanoi to pick up her son with Mrs. Ha was Mrs. Bui Thi Hien - mother of player Van Duc. The two mothers from Nghe An followed their son from Noi Bai airport to My Dinh Stadium to attend the Gala honoring the Vietnam U23 team. After the gala, the players went back to the hotel to rest. Mrs. Ha and Mrs. Hien asked to visit their son but due to security reasons, they were not allowed in.

“At that time, instead of going home to rest, we just wandered around in front of the hotel gate of our son. Seeing us, a security officer asked us, knowing that we were from Nghe An and the mothers of the players, he flexibly let us into the hotel. Meeting each other, mother and son were both happy and sad.”

The photo that the mother gave to Xuan Manh was sent back to her mother so that she could take it home and keep it as a souvenir for him. When we arrived, she was busy with her family preparing to go to Vinh city to pick up her son. Although several days had passed, she still felt guilty towards her youngest son. She said: “You know I am happy, but I am still afraid that Manh will be sad…”.