The right person, the wrong time
With 230 goals in more than 15 years of playing in the V.League, Hoang Vu Samson is the best striker of all time in this playground. In 2013, this striker officially became a Vietnamese citizen and no less than twice expressed his desire to wear the national team jersey.
Samson's point of view is to patiently wait for the call from the Vietnam team. "For me, it's never too late. I have been trying my best to demonstrate my abilities as well as prove that I am capable of competing for the national team. I believe that one day, I will be satisfied with my wishes," the striker born in 1988 once expressed.
But over the past 13 years, Hoang Vu Samson has never been called up. The most sublime period of his career in the V.League from 2013 to 2018, Samson scored nearly 100 goals. Even Xuan Son - a highly rated naturalized striker - could not achieve such an impressive number in the same period of time (80 goals).
But unfortunately for Samson, that was not the time for the Vietnamese team to give opportunities to players of foreign origin. After coach Calisto called up Phan Van Santos, Huynh Kesley Alves, Dinh Hoang La and Dinh Hoang Max for trial (from 2009 to 2011), Vietnamese football switched to another strategy.
This is the stage of making the most of young players trained from academies and clubs. The most prominent is the player of Cong Phuong (1995-1997) or Quang Hai (1997-1999). The success of the U20 team, U23 and the national team from 2017 to 2022 is a clear testament to the view of the internal strength of the Vietnam Football Federation.
When Samson was old...
Vietnamese football has begun to give naturalized players back opportunities since the shock of losing to Indonesia 3 times in a row at the 2023 Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. With opponents in the region continuously strengthening with "hybrid" and naturalized players, Vietnam may also be out of the trend.
The appearance and impressive performance of Nguyen Xuan Son at the ASEAN Cup 2024 opened up more opportunities for naturalized players in Vietnam at this time.
Once again, the name Hoang Vu Samson appeared as a candidate. For more than a decade, he played for many clubs in the V.League. During that time, Samson's family had also become accustomed to the rhythm of life in the S-shaped country.
Most recently, Samson continued to express his wish to play once for the Vietnam national team. Fans were truly touched by the perseverance of the Nigeria-born striker.
Many viewers are willing to ignore the controversy over Samson's ugly on-field actions at the previous stage. In particular, in the last 2 seasons in Quang Nam, this player has somewhat shown a fair-play attitude.
However, when the Vietnam national team started to open the door for naturalized players, Samson reached the age of 36. The signs of age have more or less affected each run of the "heavyweight goalscorer" in this year's season.
Samson has only started 12/20 matches for Quang Nam so far, including 6 substitutions. In many matches, Samson could not play more than 1 half, such as the match between Quang Nam and Hanoi (33 minutes), Hanoi Police (12 minutes), Binh Duong (17 minutes).
Mr. Kim Sang Sik is the type of coach who values physical strength, because even the strikers still have to actively move and be ready to participate in defense from a distance when the home team does not have the ball. This is a big limitation for Samson, as he prepares to turn 37.
In addition, the history of the Vietnamese team has rarely seen such an old striker present in the squad. Most recently, the oldest person to appear was Nguyen Anh Duc at the age of 35
Samson is considered a case of "right person, wrong time" for the Vietnam team. At the peak of his career, he was not given a chance. And when the policy of Vietnamese football is more open, this player is too old to be able to meet professional requirements.
