Many opportunities for naturalized players to join the national team
Striker Nguyen Xuan Son is an important factor in the journey to win the ASEAN Cup 2024 championship of the Vietnamese team. The Brazilian-born striker made history when he became the first naturalized player to participate in an official tournament of the Vietnamese team.
Xuan Son unfortunately suffered a serious injury in the second leg of the final match between Vietnam and Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium. He received great love and attention from the sports industry as well as fans. The striker's surgery and recovery process are constantly updated.
It can be seen that Xuan Son has successfully debuted in the Vietnamese national team. He has scored points with the fans and is a bright spot in the story of naturalized players in Vietnamese football in the past two decades.
The story of naturalized players joining the Vietnam national team is not new. More than 10 years ago, Phan Van Santos, Dinh Hoang La, Dinh Hoang Max and Huynh Kesley Alves... were given the opportunity to try their hand in the Vietnam national team.
However, the team's achievements were not very positive, the lackluster performance of these players, plus the scandals happening in V.League... caused the call-up of naturalized players to receive many mixed opinions from fans.
Only when Xuan Son debuted did this story receive more sympathy from the majority of football fans. Mr. Tran Anh Tu - Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) once affirmed that Nguyen Xuan Son's reception stemmed from the player's friendly personality as well as his reasonable debut timing.
"From the case of Xuan Son, it will be much easier for other naturalized players to join the national team. Fans will no longer discriminate or have many opposing opinions," Mr. Tran Anh Tu emphasized.
The club plays a key role
The Vietnamese team has benefited greatly from Xuan Son's impressive scoring and assisting performance. In the opposite direction, Xuan Son also created a historic turning point for naturalized players in the Vietnamese team.
To achieve these successes, we must first mention the contribution of Nam Dinh club - the home team of Nguyen Xuan Son.
Mr. Tran Anh Tu affirmed: "In the ASEAN Cup 2024, there is great support from clubs like Hanoi and Nam Dinh. Without them, the team would not be like this. With Nam Dinh, they were very determined to naturalize Xuan Son so that the Vietnamese team could have such a quality striker.
The leader of VFF also frankly shared that to have naturalized players, it requires the cooperation of football teams. The role of clubs is very important in this matter.
"VFF cannot decide which players will be naturalized and join the national team. Because naturalization requires a long process. This issue depends on the club. They recruit good players and introduce them to VFF.
After determining the information about that player, we also need to contact the clubs to discuss whether that face can be used. That is also a very important issue. After that, we will continue to discuss naturalization and then joining the national team," Mr. Tran Anh Tu clearly stated.
The Xuan Son effect is the best opportunity to give opportunities to naturalized players in the Vietnam national team. In addition to foreign players, overseas Vietnamese players are also a good resource for Vietnamese football at present.
However, to promote naturalization, it is necessary to start from the football teams. From there, VFF will have the basis to find more quality factors for the national team in the future.
