Rare but not the only
On the evening of December 26, the Vietnam Golden Ball Awards Gala 2025 will take place in Ho Chi Minh City. But usually, the Vietnam Men's Golden Ball is the topic that receives the most attention from fans.
At this time, the 5 names on the shortlist are Nguyen Hoang Duc, Nguyen Quang Hai, Tran Trung Kien, Nguyen Dinh Bac and Nguyen Tien Linh. Of which, Hoang Duc and Dinh Bac are the two names mentioned the most.
For Hoang Duc alone, this player has had a special year. In the first 6 months, he and Ninh Binh won the First Division with an unbeaten record for the whole season. In the remaining 6 months, this player helped the representative of the ancient capital lead the V.League without losing any match, whether the opponents were Hanoi, Nam Dinh, The Cong Viettel or Ho Chi Minh City Police.
In the national team, Hoang Duc did not make much of an impression in terms of goals or assists. However, he is an indispensable face in the main squad of the Vietnam national team under coach Kim Sang-sik. The Korean coach even selected him to join the Southeast Asian Star squad to play a friendly match against Man United in Malaysia last summer.
Looking back on the journey of the past 4 years, Hoang Duc has also maintained stability. The midfielder born in 1998 won 2 Golden Balls in 2021 and 2023. Meanwhile, in 2022 and 2024, he was also in the top 3 best players. During the same period of competing for the title with Hoang Duc, Tuan Hai was no longer the optimal choice in Hanoi's attack, Tien Linh lacked breakthrough and acupressure in scoring.
Hoang Duc is aiming to score a hat-trick for the Golden Ball in his career. Notably, if he receives this title this year, he will become the second name in Vietnamese football to be honored despite his long time playing in the First Division.
A similar case before was Pham Thanh Luong. In 2009, this former player was noticed even though he only played for Hanoi ACB in the First Division. His impressive performance in the colors of the Vietnamese national team has helped Thanh Luong be recognized by experts and the media.
Will Dinh Bac create a surprise?
If Hoang Duc strives to win the 3rd Golden Ball in his career, Dinh Bac will start. The striker from Nghe An was a young talent in 2022 and early 2023.
However, a series of consecutive troubles such as late training, refusal to sign a contract with a big club, injury... have made Dinh Bac considered an "unable to mature star". However, overcoming the pressure, he had an impressive 2025.
Under the leadership of coach Mano Polking, Dinh Bac reaped the first titles in his career with Hanoi Police Club such as the Third Division V.League, the runner-up of the Southeast Asian Cup C1 or the National Cup champion.
In the 2025-2026 season, Dinh Bac will "play the main role" more in the strategy of the police team. Most recently, in the AFC Champions League Two, Dinh Bac's goal helped Hanoi Police beat Beijing Guoan to enter the round of 16 1/8 1 round early.
At U23 Vietnam, Dinh Bac was the best player of the U23 Southeast Asian tournament in Indonesia. At the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand, the importance of the No. 7 striker was shown through goals and assists.
Thanks to that, U22 Vietnam won the gold medal of the tournament for the third time in history. This is also the SEA Games where Vietnamese men's football won the most convincing championship. That success is obviously due to Dinh Bac's great contribution.
