Recently, veteran sports journalist John Duerden of The Guardian called Tran Gia Bao "the shining gems of Vietnamese football".
The special article emphasizes the historical milestone that Gia Bao created when he became the youngest player to ever play and score in the V.League 2024-2025 season when he was only 16 years old.
In the opening match against Quang Nam last season, Gia Bao entered the field in the 72nd minute and scored in the last minute of extra time (90+4), sealing a 4-0 victory for the team from the mountain town. That was not only Gia Bao's first goal in the V.League but also considered a historic goal for a 16-year-old player.
Gia Bao was born in 2008, possesses an ideal body with a height of 1m80 and a technical, modern playing style. This player was once valued at 50,000 euros by Transfermarkt and is in the top 15 most expensive U17 players in Asia.
At the international level, he scored against Japan U17 in the 2025 U17 Asian Cup finals. He also contributed to the victories of U16 Vietnam against U16 Uzbekistan and U17 Japan at the 2024 CFA Team China U16 tournament.
Gia Bao joined Hoang Anh Gia Lai Academy at the age of 11, and was well trained under the guidance of coach Trinh Duy Quang. From the early days, he has soon shown outstanding potential when he continuously participated in youth teams and won many national level titles such as the U15 bronze medal in 2022 and 2023, the U17 silver medal and the U19 bronze medal in 2024.
Not only scoring with his expertise, Gia Bao also impresses with his calmness, confidence and discipline in living and practicing. Coach Le Quang Trai - who gave him the opportunity to debut in V.League - highly appreciated his student's spirit of learning and competitive attitude.
He affirmed: "Age is not a decisive factor, the important thing is preparation, will and courage. Gia Bao is showing that you are worthy of what you have achieved".
Possessing good personal technique, clear playing thinking and quick finishing ability, Gia Bao is currently expected to be the future of Vietnamese football.
If he continues to maintain his form and train in the right direction, Tran Gia Bao can completely become a pillar of the U20, U23 teams and further the national team in the near future.
