The love of Vietnam of a foreign father
Antonio Moric - a Vietnamese-American midfielder who is trying his hand at the U23 Vietnam team - is not the first time playing football in the S-shaped country. Over the years, this player has repeatedly made his mark at some international summer camps held in Hung Yen or Hanoi.
More interestingly, the person who inspired Moric to come to football in general and amateur tournaments in Vietnam in particular was his father - Mr. Marko Moric.
In addition to marrying a Vietnamese wife, for more than 10 years, Mr. Marko's work has also been quite related to provinces and cities in our country. That is also the reason why Mr. Marko can speak, listen and write Vietnamese quite well.
Not to mention, through relationships related to football, the man born in Croatia has helped his son gradually experience different environments, typically the international summer camp at VFF or the youth tournament at PVF.
In addition to finding inspiration from Vietnamese football, Antonio Moric is also supported by his father in developing his abilities in Croatia. The player born in 2008 has been trained in skills in the Dinamo Zagreb system - one of the leading prestigious youth academies in Europe.
Starting from the 2025-2026 season, Antonio Moric is tested at NK Trnje - a Croatian 2nd division club. Through real combat and training with players who are superior in stature and age, Moric has made significant progress in physique, handling speed and pressure tolerance.
Antonio Moric has been attached to football very early. In recent years, training and playing football in Croatia has helped him gain a solid foundation. Playing with mature players this season helps him become more mature and ready for a higher level," Mr. Marko Moric shared with the press.
Over the past 10 years, Vietnamese football has witnessed many overseas Vietnamese players returning to play for their homeland. But Antonio is a rather different case, because he received encouragement from his father in finding opportunities in Vietnam - where his mother was born and raised. Not to mention, the journey of playing football in Hanoi, Hung Yen or some provinces from his teenage years brought Antonio closeness and familiarity.
Wait and observe
The player with Croatian - Vietnamese blood soon adapted to the environment in the U23 team. One of them is communicating with the coach and teammates.
Observing from the first training session, Antonio soon became acquainted with Quang Kiet, Quang Vinh and some new faces at U23 Vietnam. Not only communicating through professional terms, Antonio also joked with his teammates.
This is a fairly important criterion in the integration problem of overseas Vietnamese players. Previously, some faces, although talented, were not suitable for the lifestyle or general atmosphere of the whole team. This stems from differences in cultural backgrounds and worldviews in each country where the players live.
Therefore, with the guidance of his father and mother, Antonio is more convenient in getting to know his teammates at U23 Vietnam. Of course, he himself also needs to make efforts to adjust himself to different external conditions such as climate, competition intensity, and tactical requirements.
Both the players and their families see this as a natural step in the development journey," Mr. Marko Moric shared.
Assessing Antonio, coach Dinh Hong Vinh shared: "He has been in my plan for a long time. I and the coaching staff decided to promote him from U19 to U23 Vietnam for convenient monitoring and evaluation, thereby preparing long-term forces for the next generation.
U23 Vietnam is a higher-level training environment. I have not yet carefully and accurately assessed Antonio Moric. If Antonio adapts and performs well in this training session, he will definitely have the opportunity to participate with U23 Vietnam in the upcoming tournament.
Antonio's journey at U23 Vietnam promises many challenges. The 18-year-old striker needs to make more efforts from adapting to the environment to proving his ability.
