Overseas Vietnamese players flock back to play in Vietnam: Vietnamese football benefits

Chung Nguyen Do (right) in the Slavia Sofia club shirt - Photo: SLAVIA SOFIA

Because many of these players have Vietnamese nationality and can completely supplement the U22 team or the Vietnam team.

Compared to the previous 3 seasons, the overseas Vietnamese players who chose to return to play in the country this season are not only young but also highly appreciated by experts. Notably, Chung Nguyen Do (Bulgaria) - a 20-year-old player valued at up to 400,000 euros (about 12.1 billion VND) has just joined Ninh Binh Club.

Overseas Vietnamese players are flooding the market.

The "open door" regulation for overseas Vietnamese players has been applied by managers since the 2023 season, allowing clubs to register 1 overseas Vietnamese player who does not have Vietnamese nationality. In the 2024-2025 season, clubs will be allowed to register twice as many. However, not many clubs are interested in adding overseas Vietnamese players because this is not a market that clubs prioritize. Not to mention the limited quality and quantity of overseas Vietnamese players.

However, everything has changed completely this season. Clubs have spared no expense in racing to acquire quality overseas Vietnamese players after seeing more clearly the potential of this resource. The fastest was rookie Ninh Binh when he brought in Chung Nguyen Do (Vietnamese name is Tran Thanh Trung) - an overseas Vietnamese player who is considered the best that Vietnamese football currently has.

Before returning to Vietnam to play football, Chung Nguyen Do was a mainstay of the first team of Slavia Sofia Club, which is competing in the Bulgarian National Championship. He was called up to the Bulgarian U17, U19 and U21 teams. Chung Nguyen Do was even noticed by Barcelona Club when he played outstandingly in the final round of the 2022 European U17 Championship. In addition, Ninh Binh Club also signed a contract with another 20-year-old Vietnamese-American player, Evan Abran, who is equally promising when he played for the Lyon U19 team (France).

Another equally famous overseas Vietnamese player is Brandon Ly (UK), who has joined the Hanoi Police Club. He used to play for the Sheffield United U18 team, Burnley U21 team and promises to be the most worth-watching player in the 2025-2026 V-League.SHB Da Nang Club, after a season of near-relegation, also took advantage of overseas Vietnamese resources when bringing in Vadim Nguyen (Russia). This 20-year-old player was trained by the youth team of FK Rostov Club and can play as a winger or central midfielder.

Despite the policy of using players trained by themselves, The Cong - Viettel Club this season also bought "extra" overseas Vietnamese players when bringing in 4 players. In addition to 2 faces who have played in V-League, center back Kyle Colonna and midfielder Duong Thanh Tung, the army team also brought in 2 brand new faces, midfielder Damian Vu Thanh An (Poland) and striker Williams Lee (England).

Williams Lee will be loaned out to gain experience in preparation for the team's future. "I believe William has great potential to become a star in the V-League. At the age of 18, he has plenty of time to learn and develop," coach Velizar Popov affirmed.

Damian Vu Thanh An - Vietnamese-American player of The Cong - Viettel Club - Photo: TCVT FC

Hope for the national team

For overseas Vietnamese players, good treatment and the opportunity to play for the Vietnamese national team are important motivations for them to return home. In particular, playing well for clubs in the V-League is an important stepping stone for overseas Vietnamese players to strive and is the basis for the coaching staff to select personnel for the national teams.

Goalkeeper Nguyen Filip and defender Cao Pendant Quang Vinh have proven their talent at the Hanoi Police Club, received Vietnamese citizenship and joined the national team. This is an example for other overseas Vietnamese to have more motivation. Center back Adou Minh (France), who recently joined the police team, immediately started and won the 2025 National Super Cup.

Another French-born player, Kevin Pham Ba, also made his mark for Nam Dinh FC and helped the team successfully defend the V-League title. These are two names that have the opportunity to become Vietnamese citizens in the near future.

The plus point of the new overseas Vietnamese team that has just arrived in V-League this season is that they are very young. Many of them already have Vietnamese nationality such as Chung Nguyen Do and Vadim Nguyen. So if they play well in V-League, the chance of both of them being called up to the U23 Vietnam team to attend SEA Games 33 at the end of this year or even wearing the Vietnam national team shirt in the future is not small.

Despite his modest height (1m75), Chung Nguyen Do is considered a fairly well-rounded midfielder with the ability to recover the ball, pass and shoot from afar, which is necessary for the U23 team or the Vietnam team.

Even midfielder Brandon Ly is very promising. Other new young faces such as Evan Abran, Williams Lee... can also be the future of the U23 team or the Vietnam national team in the coming years if they integrate well and are granted Vietnamese citizenship.

Of course, V-League is not a fertile land for overseas Vietnamese and not everyone who returns to the country can adapt well. However, if exploited properly, the overseas Vietnamese player resource will become a solid pillar for Vietnamese football in the near future, alongside excellent domestic players and ambitious naturalized foreign players.

Nguyen Khoi - Ngoc Le

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/overseas-player-of-viet-kieu-o-at-ve-nuoc-thi-dau-bong-da-viet-nam-huong-loi-20250811091717058.htm