Vietnamese football in the early days of the country's founding

We know that not long after the success of the August Revolution, President Ho Chi Minh set the task of soon building and developing the physical education and sports of the new regime. On January 30, 1946, on behalf of the Provisional Coalition Government, he signed Decree No. 14 establishing a Central Physical Education Department at the Ministry of Youth. On March 27 of the same year, he wrote a call for all people to exercise published in the newspaper Cuu Quoc, saying "I hope that all of our people will try to exercise" because "to preserve democracy, build the country, and create a new life, everything requires good health to be successful".

In sports, President Ho Chi Minh also attached great importance to football. On March 8, 1946, Uncle Ho went to SEPTO Stadium (later Hang Day Stadium) to attend the opening ceremony of the sports festival and watch the football match between the Hoang Dieu National Salvation Youth Team and the National Defense Team. He was invited to kick the honorary ball, instead of the opening whistle of the match. That was truly an unforgettable event in the history of Hanoi football.

And it was also Uncle Ho who organized the historic Vietnam - France football match in 1946. That was on October 20, 1946, after a 40-day journey at sea, the warship Dumont d' Urville carrying President Ho Chi Minh and the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to negotiate in France, docked at Ben Ngu port, Hai Phong, welcomed by tens of thousands of compatriots from the port city.

According to writer Dang Vuong Hung, in an article published in the TT&VH newspaper in 2006, “Uncle Ho had a brief talk with the cadres and people of Hai Phong right at Pho Ga football field”. At the end of the talk, Uncle “invited the people to come here tomorrow, we will organize a football match with the sailors of the French warship Dumont D'Urville to show the goodwill of the Vietnamese people”.

Although hastily assembled, the boys from Hai Phong port were short, but the Vietnamese team with their skillful techniques caused many difficulties for the Dumont d' Urville sailors. We led 1-0 after the first half, however, with the spirit of communication, maintaining peace and avoiding unnecessary tension, famous player Nguyen Lan and his teammates made the match end with a score of 1-1.

Sharing with Tien Phong newspaper reporters, former football star Tran Duy Long emphasized that “football was a very popular sport at that time”. “During the national resistance war, football was temporarily suspended, before the movement became active again when peace was restored and the revolution took over the capital”, he recalled, “Responding to President Ho Chi Minh’s call for patriotic emulation among young people, in addition to studying, students also cleaned up trash, dug up soil, buried poles, cleared grass to set up practice (football) fields, so many new stadiums were built”.

“In those days, students were all poor, they didn’t have shoes, they mainly played barefoot,” former football star Tran Duy Long recalled, “The barefoot football teams were not of high quality but they had a lot of love for sports and youthful enthusiasm.” An article in Tien Phong newspaper in 1954 also noted that “the football lovers happily put on their shoes, and on Hang Day football field on the afternoon of November 7, the first two shoe-based football teams since the liberation played a friendly match in front of more than a thousand spectators.”

Also in 1954, in order to create a healthy playground, and at the same time encourage young people to compete in studying, practicing sports, and building the country, Tien Phong newspaper proposed to organize the Tien Phong newspaper's round ball award with 16 participating teams. After two and a half months of competition, the Bell team won first prize with the prize - a crystal vase given by the youth of the German Democratic Republic to the youth of Vietnam - from the hands of doctor Tran Duy Hung, Chairman of the Hanoi Administrative Committee.

President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Pham Van Dong attended the opening match of Hang Day Stadium between the Phnom Penh (Cambodia) team and the Hai Phong team. (Photo: Vien Hong Quang, color reconstruction from VNA archive photo)

The success of the tournament contributed to the establishment of the Hoa Binh Football Tournament in 1955 (later the Northern A-League). “Despite entering the period of resistance against the US, the Party and the State still attached great importance to the development of physical education and sports, especially football. We also had a permanent national team at the national training school (Nhon), trained by leading Soviet football experts and participating in many international tournaments, such as the Vietnam - China - Korea - Mongolia Football Tournament.

In 1960, this tournament was held in Vietnam, at Hang Day Stadium, famous player Tran Duy Long created a memorable memory. “In the last match against China, I dribbled the ball past goalkeeper Truong Tuan Tu and scored, making the stadium explode,” he recalled. “On the sidelines, the female students of Trung Vuong School, whose job was to release balloons for the closing ceremony, jumped up to celebrate, then released all the balloons they were holding. Mr. Le Mai from the Hanoi Department met me and scolded me, saying, “It’s because of you that the closing ceremony was ruined. Luckily, there was an oxygen tank at door 6, so we all went out to pump the balloons.”

Hai Phong Inter-Army Football Team in 1946, photo by writer Dang Vuong Hung provided by the late famous player Nguyen Lan

According to Mr. Tran Duy Long, during the fiercest months of the resistance war against the US, the team training in Nhon had to dig bunkers (shelters) around the field. Every time they heard the loudspeaker announce “enemy planes are entering Hanoi’s sky”, the players had to go down into the bunkers, and when they heard the announcement “enemy planes have gone far away”, they would go back up to play again.

“In the old days, conditions were poor, there were no studded shoes,” said the famous player who contributed to the national team’s 1-0 victory over the Soviet Union youth team in 1966. “We had to take the studs from our sisters’ clogs, peel them off, and then hammer them upside down. After the match, we took off our shoes and our feet and socks were covered in blood because the studs had pierced through them. At that time, anyone who could afford a pair of Ngoc Lien shoes bought at Hang Dau boots was in a terrible situation, but they only lasted a few matches before they were gone.”

“In the past, despite difficult conditions and shortages, the players still took to the field with great spirit, dedicating themselves to the flag and the fans. Referring to the previous generation, I hope that you will consider that as motivation to compete with all your might, take to the field with honor and pride, and bring glory to the Fatherland.” Former player Tran Duy Long

“Although football was amateur, it must be said that the players at that time were all truly talented, each with their own unique color and style, leaving a deep impression. Today, players have a better life, even earning money from transfers. They are also professionally and systematically trained, with a nutritional regimen that helps improve their physique and physical strength, surpassing that of the previous generation. I am happy for them, and happy with the successes of Vietnamese football in recent years. We have not only won the Southeast Asian championship but also competed fairly in major tournaments such as the Asian Cup and World Cup Qualifiers.

Looking at professional football, the current generation of players and what has been achieved over the past 80 years, I have strong faith in the bright future of Vietnamese football, both the men's and women's teams," said Mr. Tran Duy Long with emotion and passion of someone who has devoted his whole life to the development of Vietnamese football.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/bong-da-viet-thuo-lap-nuoc-post1773663.tpo