Meaning behind the name
Vietnamese football history has witnessed more than 10 naturalized foreign players. Many of those faces are V.League legends with a number of goals for clubs up to 100 - 200 goals.
But it will be until 2024, when Nguyen Xuan Son shines at the ASEAN Cup to help the Vietnamese team win the championship, the journey of naturalized players will truly be smooth in the national team. The above positive result is also the starting point for two names associated with the meaning of luck, Do Hoang Hen and Nguyen Tai Loc later.
It is necessary to start with the case of Nguyen Xuan Son. After gaining Vietnamese citizenship, Rafaelson - a Brazilian-born striker decided to take the surname "Nguyen" because of his close relationship with Mr. Nguyen Van Thien - Chairman of Xuan Thien Group.
Like many other naturalized players in the past such as Nguyen Van Bakel, Phan Van Santos, Huynh Kesley Alves... Son kept a part of his original name in his name in Vietnam.
Interestingly, Xuan Son also carries the meaning of luck in Vietnamese.
The word "Spring" means spring - the beginning of a new beginning in a year. Spring also brings a lot of luck. When sitting together, we suggested this to Son because everyone longs for the best and luckiest things to come to Son," a representative of the Nam Dinh team's leadership once shared.
In fact, Xuan Son changed his life from that Vietnamese name. Millions of fans love him after his classy performance at the ASEAN Cup two years ago. Xuan Son's income increased "skyrocketing", from bonuses, advertising to signing bonuses of tens of billions of VND thanks to a contract lasting until 2031 with the home team Thien Truong.
Not to mention, he also received large assets such as houses and cars from accompanying businesses. Far from the difficult period of finding opportunities to play from Brazil, Japan or Europe, the striker born in 1997 is enjoying life with his wife and children in the S-shaped country.
After Xuan Son, naturalized player Do Hoang Hen also followed a similar path, Hanoi FC helped Hendrio successfully naturalize in Vietnam. Like Xuan Son, the Vietnamese name he chose also has a lucky color.
I have researched and learned that luck in the Vietnamese sense means favorable, smooth, and smooth. Similar to Son. It is also interesting that this word is also part of the original name that my biological parents in Brazil gave me," Hoang Hen shared with Lao Dong.
In March 2026, the player born in 1994 was called up to the Vietnamese national team for the first time and soon made his mark. Besides assisting Xuan Son to score, Hoang Hen also created a series of quality passes for his teammates in friendly matches.
A perfect start promises to bring a journey full of expectations for this player, after naturalization and choosing a Vietnamese name with the symbol of luck.
The Third Musketeer
After Xuan Son and Hoang Hen, Geovane Magno is the 3rd Brazilian player to naturalize in Vietnam in the past 2 years. Interestingly, this talented player chose a purely Vietnamese name: Nguyen Tai Loc.
V.League history has also witnessed a number of similar cases such as Le Van Phu, Tran Trung Hieu, Nguyen Trung Dai Duong.
But the decision from Tai Loc is not simply a name. It is also a message from the team's leadership as well as himself, after witnessing two compatriots who have changed their lives with a positive appearance since naturalizing and choosing a lucky name.
According to the explanation, taking the middle name "Tai" and the main name "Loc" shows hope for a major change for Geovane. This player hopes to achieve success both at the club and the Vietnamese national team.
A reality to admit, although one of the most successful and stable foreign players in the V.League in the past 5 years, Tai Loc has not had as many titles as expected or received by fans.
Up to this point, he has played for big clubs such as Saigon FC, Hanoi FC, The Cong Viettel, Cong An Hanoi and Ninh Binh, but Nguyen Tai Loc has only had one National Super Cup in 2023. In addition to the rare title with Hanoi, Tai Loc has not had any more significant mark in his football career for nearly a decade.
It should also be added that although he has many years of experience fighting in Vietnam, Tai Loc's income at V.League teams is only moderate. This number is about 2 times lower than the treatment that Xuan Son or Hoang Hen are receiving in Hanoi and Nam Dinh.
That is also the motivation for Tai Loc to be more determined at the ASEAN Cup 2026. Because if he brings good luck to the Vietnamese team at the Southeast Asian tournament, the remaining journey in the career of this naturalized striker promises to change fortune positively.
My family is very happy. They also love Vietnam very much. This place is like my second home and I will always try to do the best for Vietnam," Tai Loc expressed.
