The urgency of using overseas Vietnamese players
Compared to the time when Vietnam officially won the AFF Cup 2018, Southeast Asian football has had many unusual changes, beyond the calculations of managers.
First, the wave of Thai players returning to Thailand has increased dramatically in a short period of time. This resource is so great that generations of Thai U23 coaches can freely choose a team of players from abroad.
Even bright young talent like Thanawat Seungchitthawon - who used to play for Leicester City in the Premier League - struggled to find a regular position.
At the national team level, not many Thais are superior to their seniors who have grown up in the Southeast Asian football environment. But it cannot be denied that they create great competitiveness and motivation for their colleagues.
Meanwhile, the appearance of businessman Erick Thohir - former President of Inter Milan and his associates has completely changed the direction of Indonesian football. A few years ago, the team of the archipelago did not naturalize too many players. If there was a shortage of positions, the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) would find a reasonable naturalization solution, most of whom had to return home to try their luck.
But then, the financial resources and special relationships from Mr. Erick Thohir brought in nearly 20 naturalized players in a short time. Thom Haye, Kevin Diks, Ivar Jenner, Rafael Struick, Jordi Amat or Nathan Tjoe A-on are capable of playing for any other team in Southeast Asia.
Indonesian football has thus achieved some initial results. Coach Shin Tae-yong and his team have qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup - an achievement that shows the effectiveness of the investment strategy pursued by PSSI.
The position of the Vietnamese team was seriously affected when the opponent had external resources to support. The VFF was forced to change to avoid the national team getting "bogged down" further after the failure under coach Troussier.
Easy to say, hard to do
Does VFF care about overseas Vietnamese players? The answer is definitely yes. There are only a few naturalized players currently playing in the V.League. Hoang Vu Samson and Tran Trung Hieu are both old, leaving only Nguyen Xuan Son who can contribute much. Therefore, finding overseas Vietnamese players is more urgent than ever.
“It's easy to say, but hard to do” is the saying that best describes the situation of VFF searching for and contacting overseas Vietnamese players.
Quality overseas Vietnamese players, worth millions of dollars and contributing a lot to the national team, are not willing to return home. Relatives and small families of the players only want to return home when “there is no other way”.
The procedures for applying for new or re-granting Vietnamese citizenship are still more open than before. However, many families lose their personal documents and their children’s documents when they immigrate abroad. Only when they need them do they mobilize resources to find them and complete the citizenship application.
In addition, the truth needs to be clearly recognized. Most overseas Vietnamese players returning to the country do not have the required professional quality. Over the past 10 years, Dang Van Robert, Dang Van Lam, Nguyen Filip or Mac Hong Quan are the rare players who have been selected for the Vietnam national team and have maintained stable performance.
The rest, there are dozens of people who return to Vietnam to seek opportunities to play football, but not all of them are guaranteed professional skills. Only a few players like Ibrahim Maza, Yohan Cabaye or Kenneth have impressive resumes. However, if they do not fail in the local football scene, it is very difficult for overseas Vietnamese players with outstanding skills to return to their homeland.
VFF will continue the work of "panning for gold" and provide maximum support for applying for citizenship for overseas Vietnamese players.
