Humility in the spotlight
"The achievements of Vietnamese women's football come from the efforts of the whole team, I am not a hero. I would like to thank the fans, players, coaching staff, and industry leaders for actively supporting the Vietnam Women's Team," coach Mai Duc Chung maintains the same interview response style that... everyone knows.
Mr. Chung's "vehicle" statements kept repeating themselves to the point of... getting bored. Some people will say that coach Mai Duc Chung spoke like that for safety. However, those who are regularly exposed to this coach will have a completely different opinion.
In 2023, in the semi-final match of the 32nd SEA Games women's football, coach Mai Duc Chung said lightly in the press conference: "The Vietnamese women's team had a hard time defeating Cambodia. They tried very hard and improved so they kicked us out of sweat. In fact, the Vietnam women's team won 4-0 in that match.
That is the glorious modesty of coach Mai Duc Chung. When he was young, Mr. Chung collected every single penny to pursue a career in football.
At that time, few people thought that Mr. Mai Duc Chung would later become an extremely special figure in Vietnamese football. In the world, not many people take turns leading the women's team, men's professional clubs and then the women's team, sometimes taking over the men's team. Strangely, Mr. Chung is successful every time.
At one point, this veteran strategist failed. The day Mr. Chung had to say goodbye to Thanh Hoa, fans absolutely did not hear any noisy statements. Mr. Chung quietly arranged his luggage even though he created the Thanh team to compete with great emotion and moderate force.
World Cup dream come true
In 2022, the Vietnam Women's Team seemed to have to give up before the Asian Championship due to the COVID-19 storm. At one point, only 3-4 players were on the field to practice with Mr. Mai Duc Chung. There have been questions about whether we should stop, while coach Mai Duc Chung does not think so.
When arriving in India, Mr. Chung wanted to contribute and think about the World Cup dream with his students. Huynh Nhu and her teammates breathed a sigh of relief after each run, but they never gave up. Finally, the Vietnam Women's Team fulfilled their World Cup dream with the " spirit of Vietnamese women".
In New Zealand, coach Mai Duc Chung became the oldest coach in the World Cup. Leading the tournament's rookie team, who have not been able to win any points, but no one can underestimate the Vietnam Women's Team. The Vietnamese national anthem resounds in the world's number one arena - something that Vietnamese fans are always proud of.
Coaches Mai Duc Chung, Hoang Anh Tuan and Pham Minh Giang are the domestic coaches who brought Vietnamese football to the World Cup.
But when reviewing the gold record of achievements and dedication, it is difficult for anyone to keep up with Mr. Chung "ove". Coach Mai Duc Chung led the Vietnam Women's Team to win the SEA Games Gold Medal 8 times in 1997, 2003, 2005, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023. There are foreign experts who come and go, but Mr. Chung is the "favorite" of Vietnamese women's football.
Mr. Chung also brought home the AFF Cup 2019 championship and the Vietnam Women's Team almost touched a ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
In addition, the Hanoian coach also won the 2008 Merdeka Cup championship with U22 Vietnam. At the club level, he won the 2011 National Cup with Navibank Saigon, reached the semi-finals of the 2009 AFC Cup and won the 2015 V.League with Binh Duong.
With his brilliant milestones, Mr. Mai Duc Chung was awarded a Certificate of Merit for outstanding sports in 2023 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; and was awarded the title of "Hero of Labor" by the President in 2025.
However, for many generations of Vietnamese female players, Chung's father is simply like a respected old father. No collective or individual title will be more valuable than the personality of coach Mai Duc Chung. His warmth builds a united and powerful Vietnam Women's Team. There was a time when coach Mai Duc Chung decided to stop. But when the Fatherland needed him, he put his own joy aside with his hardworking wife, giving up the pleasure of fishing to play Vietnamese women's football.
There will be a time when Mr. Chung will be absent from the coaching bench. That is the story of the future, but now, fans will still enjoy the emotions that coach Mai Duc Chung and his team brought, at least until the end of the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand.
The " Glory of Vietnam" program is a special political, cultural and social event directed by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, in coordination with the Central Emulation and Reward Committee and a number of central departments, assigned Lao Dong Newspaper to directly implement annually, continuously from 2004 to present. By the end of 2024, a total of 294 collectives and individuals have been honored through the Vietnamese Gloryods, including 110 collectives, 184 heroic individuals, typical advanced models with outstanding achievements in the patriotic emulation movement, building and defending the Fatherland.
Over the past 20 years, the program has become one of the typical activities of commendation and replication at the national level; a program with prestigious socio-political significance, recognized by senior leaders of the Party - State and public opinion.
In 2025, our country welcomed many important holidays: the 95th anniversary of the establishment of the Communist Party of Vietnam, 50 years of liberation of the South, reunification of the country, 100 years of revolutionary revolutionary press in Vietnam, especially the 80th anniversary of the National Day. The 80 -year milestone, is also the time when our country entered the new era - the era of the nation's rise.
In 2025, the Vietnam Glory program selected the topic "Proud and aspiration" as the main topic, expected to honor collectives and individuals who have contributed to imprints, especially important in 80 years of national construction and defense; Having contributed greatly to the socio -economic development of the country today and has the potential to contribute in the coming years, with outstanding achievements in digital economy, green economy, innovation, positive impact on sustainable development.
The Vietnamese Glory Program "Pride and Aspiration" will be held on June 22, 2025 at the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Labor Cultural Palace, Hanoi, and is expected to be broadcast live on Vietnam Television.
