All the best and most beautiful things are being reserved for Xuan Son, which is reasonable, because he deserves it. But from the "newbie" of the Vietnam National Team, we also need to look back at domestic players when they step foot abroad.
Before beating Myanmar 5-0 at the ASEAN Champions League 2024 on December 21, the last time the Vietnamese team had a match with 5 or more goals was exactly 2 years ago - beating Laos 6-0 on December 21, 2022, also at the Southeast Asian Championship (then known as the AFF Cup). At Viet Tri Stadium last Saturday, Xuan Son made a strong impression with his "10 without buts" debut with 2 goals, 2 assists and many other notable moments. However, that was not enough. Because the Brazilian striker affirmed in a weighty way the aspirations he has long talked about - his love for Vietnam.
Xuan Son learns Vietnamese. Xuan Son and his family learn to sing the Vietnamese National Anthem. Xuan Son's wife tells him to "play for the love of the national team". Xuan Son puts his hand on his chest and sings. Xuan Son puts many kisses on the flag on his chest every time he scores a goal... The 27-year-old striker has lived in Vietnam for 5 years. If only considering the aspect of playing football, he is one of many examples showing that players need to adapt to a new environment. That is an issue that Vietnamese football and Vietnamese players have not been able to do. Many players have gone abroad but have returned without "success" in their luggage. One of the important reasons is the ability to adapt to a new environment, with new teammates.
Not to the extent of naturalization or learning to sing the national anthem of the host country, but many people see that the will to strive, the awareness of learning, improving, and the socialization of Vietnamese players are not good. In other words, the "inertia" is still great, the motivation is not enough to overcome the situation. Therefore, Xuan Son's debut can become "one arrow, two birds with one stone", when it both opens up more opportunities for naturalized players and adds more motivation for domestic players to "dare" to go abroad to develop, meeting the increasingly high level of football when the country's football aims for the World Cup?
