When Hoang Duc can 'breathe a sigh of relief'

At the V-League Awards ceremony, Hoang Duc received the award for best player in the first division, while Alan Grafite was the best player in the V-League.

HOANG DUC RELIEVE PRESSURE

The award ceremony for outstanding individuals and teams of the Vietnamese professional football season (V-League Awards) took place on July 1, when all categories found worthy owners.

The title of "Best Player of the First Division" may not be a great honor for Nguyen Hoang Duc. The midfielder born in 1998 won 2 Vietnam Golden Balls (2021, 2024) in 4 years and received the award for best player of V-League. However, the personal honor plaque that Hoang Duc received at the award ceremony on July 1, has a great meaning of relief.

Hoang Duc was criticized and doubted when he refused to renew his contract with The Cong Viettel to move down to the first division to play for Ninh Binh Club. As the best player in Vietnam at that time, Hoang Duc agreed to move down a division, causing concerns about professional consequences when the difference in class between V-League and the first division was not small.

However, overcoming the pressure to focus on the competition, Hoang Duc and Ninh Binh Club successfully promoted with a record score (58 points after 19 wins and 1 draw) to return to V-League. Although the 27-year-old midfielder did not score continuously (3 goals), he was the soul leading the gameplay, showing the influence of the "boss" of the midfield, helping Ninh Binh Club progress steadily.

Hoang Duc received the title of best player of the first division

PHOTO: VPF

Alan Grafite received the award for best player of V-League

PHOTO: VPF

Now, the ancient capital team has advanced to the V-League and is ready to spend heavily to compete for the top spot next season. The return to the V-League is a good sign for Hoang Duc and coach Kim Sang-sik personally. Hoang Duc is still the most stable midfielder of the Vietnamese national team and when returning to the familiar playing field, the midfielder of Ninh Binh can recreate the image of the period when he won 2 Vietnamese Golden Balls.

For foreign player Alan Grafite, the title of V-League's Best Player is completely deserved. He scored 14 goals in the V-League, 6 goals in the ASEAN Club Championship and scored a hat-trick in the National Cup final for the Hanoi Police Club (CAHN). A real "bargain" for CAHN Club, in the context that many V-League teams, despite spending a lot of money, cannot find good foreign players.

YOUNG PLAYERS STEP INTO THE LIGHT

In the category of best young player of V-League, midfielder Le Van Thuan (Thanh Hoa Club) was honored. At the age of 19, Van Thuan has had 15 matches and 2 goals in V-League this season. Thanh Hoa's "young shoot" has a lot of potential to succeed, such as technique, fighting spirit, and the tenacity to be steady in the season when promoted to play in V-League.

"Thanks to the support of my seniors, I have become much more confident. I want to dedicate this title to my family and use it as motivation to try harder," Van Thuan affirmed.

The best young player in the first division is Nguyen Hieu Minh of PVF-CAND. Wearing the shirt of one of the teams with the best training facilities, training curriculum and player development strategy, Hieu Minh has matured with 18 matches in the first division this season (15 starting matches) and plays steadily in the defense. Center back Hieu Minh is only 21 years old, 1.84 m tall, possesses the poise and ideal physique to be a potential seed.

The common point of Hieu Minh and Van Thuan is that they could not attend the award ceremony because they are training with U.23 Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian tournament. That is also a good sign, when both potential young players "get into the groove" of competing with the youth team right after the club season ends.

A foreign expert once shared with Thanh Nien that in order for young players to develop, they need to compete and compete. For a long time, the Vietnamese youth football system has not had many playgrounds (except for the annual national U.15, U.17, U.19 and U.21 tournaments, which last nearly 2 months each) for "young shoots" to test their skills. The number of matches for young players is not at the ideal level like the 25 - 30 match milestone that former coach Philippe Troussier of the Vietnamese team once mentioned.

However, it is fortunate that there are V-League and first division teams that are still diligently training and giving opportunities to young people, such as Thanh Hoa (Van Thuan, Ngoc My, Thai Son, Nguyen Hoang), PVF-CAND (Hieu Minh, Thanh Nhan, Xuan Bac), Hanoi, HAGL, The Cong Viettel or SLNA, the team that just received the title of giving opportunities to the most young players in the tournament.

Van Thuan and Hieu Minh are both "gems" that need to be nurtured and developed. Coach Kim Sang-sik has a squad of young players full of potential and ambition. How to build the U.23 Vietnam team so that young players can gain more experience and battle prowess is Mr. Kim's business. However, to have more young talent and know how to make the most of them, Vietnamese football needs to invest more money and brainpower.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/khi-hoang-duc-co-the-tho-phao-185250701212231258.htm