Dinh Trieu's mother is a janitor, working at the high school for 22 years.
On the afternoon of January 5, we returned to the hometown of Vietnam national team goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu in Bai Thuong village (Duong Phuc commune, Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province) just a few hours before the second leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final.
Previously, information about the hometown and family background of this player currently playing for Hai Phong Club was very little.
We contacted Mr. Vu Truong Ca - Chairman of Duong Phuc Commune People's Committee to ask for directions to Dinh Trieu's house. Mr. Ca said that before the second leg of the final, Dinh Trieu's family did not organize a group football viewing to cheer for Trieu and the team like in the hometowns of many other players in the Vietnam team.
According to the Commune Chairman, currently only Dinh Trieu's mother lives in the countryside, and conditions are still difficult. Dinh Trieu's mother used to work as a janitor at Tay Thuy Anh High School, Thai Thuy District.
Mr. Quach Dinh Luong - Principal of Tay Thuy Anh High School - confirmed to us: "That's right, it's Mrs. Nhin, Dinh Trieu's mother. She worked for the school for 22 years, and everyone loved her. Two years ago, she resigned due to health reasons.
On the day she said goodbye to the school, Mrs. Nhin was so moved that she could not hold back her tears. The school's union and other organizations gave her a gift of 10 million VND to repair her roof. In terms of morality and character, Mrs. Nhin's family and herself are very good, wonderful, and beyond reproach."
"On Trieu's wedding day, the teachers also came down to celebrate with the family. Trieu used to be a student at the school, very obedient and determined. In the past few days, we have seen Trieu being the main goalkeeper for the team and winning many victories. We are really proud that our hometown has someone like Trieu," Mr. Luong excitedly added.
His father passed away when he was 8 years old. Dinh Trieu traveled from the South to the North to study and pursue football.
That afternoon, when we arrived at Trieu's house, our first impression of the mother of the Vietnamese national team goalkeeper was a woman about 73 or 74 years old with a small, thin figure but very agile and resourceful.
Mrs. Nhin lives alone in a small house tucked away in an alley, close to her two younger brothers' houses. Perhaps because there are few guests in the house, Mrs. Nhin did not place a table and chairs for drinking water.
We sat with Mrs. Nhin and her two younger brothers drinking water and chatting right on the mattress where she used to rest.
"My husband had a total of 6 children, 4 boys, 2 girls. The 3 boys and 1 girl were the eldest wife's children. After she passed away, he married me and had two more sisters, Trieu and Trieu. In 1998, my husband passed away, when Trieu was 8 years old and her sister was 12. After finishing 11th grade, because of her passion for football, Trieu dropped out of school to take the entrance exam for the youth team of T&T Hanoi. After that, because she was not selected for the first team of T&T, Trieu went to the South, worked as a security guard, and went back to school from 10th grade, then passed the entrance exam for Information Technology at Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport.
Then, fate brought him back to football, and he played for Hai Phong Club. His wife also went to Hai Phong, now the two of them rent a house to live in, they have a 14-month-old daughter, during the day my wife leaves the child at the nursery to go to work, sometimes I also come to visit," Mrs. Nhn said.
Mrs. Nhin said that sometimes she feels like she is dreaming, still unable to believe that one day her son will be chosen as the main goalkeeper of the national team.
"At first, I never dared to think that Trieu would be called to the national team. When he was called up, there were many opinions saying this and that. I just encouraged him to take care of his health, try his best, and respond to the teachers' care and support. I still jokingly told Trieu's sister and everyone that Trieu was a "late bloomer", although late, she still... "bloomed", Mrs. Nhin happily shared.
