11 months of blandness
Normally, the criteria for evaluating a player to win the Vietnam Golden Ball is based on the priority of performance in the national team to the club level from V.League, National Cup or further to the Asian front. However, in the past 11 months, the Vietnam National Team has performed below expectations.
In January, Vietnam was eliminated from the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup. The defeat to Indonesia was the beginning of a “nightmare”. Two months later, when they met the team from the archipelago twice in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, Vietnam lost all of them, leading to elimination. Coach Philippe Troussier also left the “hot seat” before the end of his contract.
But the national team under new coach Kim Sang-sik has not been able to improve. Since May, the Korean coach has only helped the team win exactly 1 match against the Philippines. When playing against Iraq, Thailand, Russia, India, Quang Hai and his teammates did not have favorable results.
In the context of the lackluster Vietnam National Team, the criteria for evaluating players will be more focused on V.League for nearly a year. However, this stage has been "occupied" by Rafaelson (Nguyen Xuan Son) of Nam Dinh FC.
The most notable domestic player in the recent domestic tournament was Nguyen Van Quyet. He scored 11 goals in the 2023-2024 V.League. This year, after 7 rounds, Quyet "jungle" also scored 3 goals for Hanoi and recently became the domestic player with the most goals in V.League history.
Ironically, last season, it was Van Quyet… who missed the penalty kick, causing Hanoi FC to lose the chance to win the National Cup. Furthermore, this veteran striker has just announced his retirement from international football after the end of the October training session of the Vietnam National Team.
The destination is AFF Cup
Van Quyet is a case that has caused many conflicting opinions, between good and bad. But besides him, the remaining 19 candidates for the Men's Golden Ball category are not much more outstanding.
Tuan Anh did not have much of an impact on Nam Dinh's V.League championship; Viet Anh and Dinh Bac were only really good in the first 3 months of the year, and Thanh Binh still made mistakes that led to Vietnam's disastrous defeat against Indonesia at the Asian Cup.
Nguyen Thanh Chung, Do Hung Dung, Nguyen Phong Hong Duy, Bui Vi Hao, Khuat Van Khang, Tran Nguyen Manh, Chau Ngoc Quang, Hoang Vu Samson, Nguyen Thai Son, Cao Van Trien, To Van Vu... have not yet created a breakthrough in 2024. Nguyen Hoang Duc, Dang Van Lam or Pham Tuan Hai, Nguyen Quang Hai actually only attract attention in the transfer market.
Perhaps Nguyen Van Toan is a little better. He is one of the spearheads of Nam Dinh's attack, in the journey to win the historic V.League 2023-2024 championship. Van Toan himself has been gaining a foothold in the Vietnam National Team, although his contribution in 2024 is not explosive.
Similarly, names like Tien Linh, Tuan Hai, Quang Hai, Van Lam or Hoang Duc also need a real boost in the AFF Cup 2024, in the Golden Ball race which is still vague and has not yet determined a strong candidate.
“We will have to wait for the AFF Cup to end to find a worthy player. At the moment, I cannot say who is the most worthy. For now, I am leaning towards Nguyen Tien Linh. He is playing well, scoring regularly through 6 rounds of V.League. If he helps Vietnam play well in the Southeast Asian Championship at the end of the year and Binh Duong achieves good results, he will have an advantage. Achievements and contributions in the national team are often decisive. Hoang Duc plays in the First Division, but if he helps his team get promoted and contributes well in the national team, he will also be a strong candidate,” said former player Cong Vinh.
