Emotional goal
“The first match of the tournament is always difficult. In the first half, the team did not play very well. In the second half, after the goal, everything was released and the team played more freely and better. Regarding the goal, for me, wearing the national team jersey and contributing to the Fatherland is an honor. I only contributed a small part to the team's victory. The team's victory is the most important thing.
I dedicate this goal to the fans, the Vietnamese expatriates living in Laos who came to the stadium to cheer for the team. Although we played away, it really felt like we were playing at home and we felt happy. Regarding the match against Indonesia, they are getting stronger through each tournament, the next match will be very difficult. The whole team will try our best to win, bringing joy to the fans."
That was Nguyen Hai Long's statement after the 4-1 victory of the Vietnam National Team over Laos in the opening match of the ASEAN Championship 2024 on December 9. It sounded smooth, but in fact, this statement was "edited" to fit the context. The 24-year-old player had a lot of difficulty expressing himself. With a little hesitation, a little shyness, or even a lack of experience, Hai Long seemed not to know how to express his feelings after the match in which he scored his first goal in the national team jersey.
That was also the opening goal of the match, after nearly an hour of stalemate for the "Golden Star Warriors". A move to break the offside trap, accelerate to receive a long pass from Bui Tien Dung and a decisive kick while the ball was still flying high in the air, the ball went straight into the home team's net. It can be said that the goal came at a time when no one expected it, including coach Kim Sang-sik.
Because while the midfielder of Hanoi club was soaring to finish the ball, Nguyen Quang Hai, Nguyen Van Toan and Pham Tuan Hai were standing close to the sideline waiting for the referee to clear them onto the field. That is, the Korean coach had thought of other options to find a way to break the deadlock of the team. Right after the goal, Hai Long was withdrawn, leaving the rest to be Quang Hai's mark - participating in all 3 situations leading to 3 goals by Nguyen Tien Linh, Van Toan and Nguyen Van Vi.
Step into the light
Although Quang Hai made his mark with 2 assists and 1 indirect corner kick leading to the decisive goal, or Tien Linh was on the list of candidates for the best player award in the first round of the 2024 ASEAN Cup group stage, for many people, Hai Long deserved to receive praise. The midfielder from Quang Ninh officially stepped into the light after this goal.
As mentioned above, even coach Kim Sang-sik did not seem to think that Hai Long would score, but it was an "expected" surprise. As midfielder Phan Van Duc said - when he was still training with the team before he and 6 other players were eliminated, "One of the people that impressed me the most was Hai Long. He showed surprising progress in all aspects. I think Hai Long will bring a surprise if coach Kim Sang-sik chooses him. Hopefully Hai Long will maintain his current passion for playing football."
And the goal against the Laos team is defined as the official moment that helped Hai Long step into the light. It was not the goal against the strongest opponent, but it was the most important goal for the midfielder born in 2000, a young factor but soon felt the ups and downs of a football player's life.
The Road Is Bumpy
The difficulties and bumps that came to this midfielder, who is only 1m68 tall, started from being born into a family with no football tradition. His passion brought Hai Long to the Viettel The Cong training center, but he could not compete, even though he was in the group that won the runner-up position in the U13 tournament and the U15 national championship. That was the reason why in 2015, Hai Long returned to his hometown, studied and grew up at Than Quang Ninh club.
After 5 years, at the age of 20, Hai Long was also promoted to the first team of the mining team, with the coach who put his trust in him at that time being Phan Thanh Hung. He assessed his young player at that time: "Hai Huy's injury was a big loss for Than Quang Ninh. However, the person taking Hai Huy's position, Hai Long, completed the task quite well. I put Hai Long on the field because I had great faith in him. Courage and calmness are Hai Long's special qualities. That difference in a player, similar to Quang Hai or Cong Phuong, is something that coaches like me cannot teach".
However, fate continued to put the Tien Yen player to the test, when just 1 year later, Than Quang Ninh disbanded. Coach Phan Thanh Hung's assessment was probably one of the reasons that prompted Hanoi FC to buy the remaining part of Than Quang Ninh's youth training contract. Hanoi FC is famous for developing young players, but because of that, Hai Long did not easily find a place at Hang Day Stadium. Moreover, Hanoi FC's squad also has many seniors - including Quang Hai, who are in good form. And despite being a member of the squad that won the treble in 2022 - V.League, National Cup, National Super Cup, Hai Long's contribution was limited.
Of course, with a young player whose quality was assessed, coach Park Hang-seo summoned Hai Long to the U23 team and similar to Hanoi, although he won the SEA Games 31 with the U23 team, people remembered the role and mark of his seniors such as: Do Hung Dung, Nguyen Hoang Duc or Tien Linh - the team was supplemented with 3 over-age players, rather than Hai Long.
In fact, although he was a member of the U23 team from 2020 to 2022, Hai Long only played 13 matches. Therefore, this central midfielder is considered to be "slow to develop". In addition to the two coaches Park Hang-seo and Phan Thanh Hung, Philippe Troussier - who prioritizes young players - also gave him opportunities, but Hai Long did not have a breakthrough.
Enough sunshine flowers will bloom
Each player's development path is different. For Hai Long, when there is no breakthrough, he will follow a slower, more certain path, in the style of enough quantity, quality will change, enough sunlight, flowers will bloom. The personnel changes at Hanoi FC opened up opportunities for Hai Long in the 2023 - 2024 season and he took advantage of it, bringing a new breeze. Although the capital team did not win the championship, Hai Long played in all 26 matches in the V.League (14 starting matches, scoring 4 goals) and maintained this season with 8/9 matches (3 goals).
Hai Long played for the national team in June 2021, but the closed friendly match with Jordan was not included in the official match list. He was also in the squad for the 2023 Asian Cup but did not play any matches, so the friendly match with Russia last September was his official debut for the national team.
Hai Long also made his name on the scoreboard when the Vietnamese team conducted a training trip to Korea, but the goal in Laos was the first official goal for the team. Although there are still seniors in the squad of coach Kim Sang-sik registered for the ASEAN Championship 2024, at the age of 24, Hai Long brings new energy and vitality at a stage when the team needs the fighting power of young people.
