Xuan Son's big day
Born in the "kingdom of football" Brazil, growing up in a football culture imbued with samba, Xuan Son has never had the honor of wearing the national team jersey like many of his teammates of the same era. It was not until he came to Vietnam, experienced many hardships and played for a series of clubs such as Nam Dinh, Binh Dinh, Da Nang, that Xuan Son's ability was recognized by experts. The "marks" from naturalized players who did not contribute to the Vietnam National Team, even leaving bad reputations in the V.League a decade ago, made many people wary and afraid. Xuan Son understood that. He heard, was told, and he himself faced criticism about his dream of naturalization and playing for the Vietnam National Team.
The day before entering the first match for the Vietnam National Team, Xuan Son was both excited and worried. A very long conversation took place between him and his wife. "Try hard, the whole family is with you" - his wife's words were like a support for Xuan Son to try harder.
They called Xuan Son's name in the stands as an acknowledgement that he was a part of the Vietnam team. He was more confident. The Vietnamese national anthem rang out, Xuan Son placed his hand on the Vietnamese flag and hummed along to the heroic melody. The national anthem ended, Xuan Son smiled brightly. In the stands, his family applauded in encouragement.
The pioneer for naturalized players
Xuan Son had 2 assists and 2 goals for the Vietnam team against Myanmar. In addition, he also had 6 key passes, 4/6 duels won, 3/4 successful dribbles, 7/10 aerial duels won. The match organizers also voted Xuan Son the best player in Vietnam's 5-0 victory over Myanmar.
After 14 years, the Vietnam National Team has a naturalized striker. For the first time, a player without Vietnamese bloodline plays in an official tournament. Nguyen Xuan Son now has to "play" the role of paving the way for the naturalized player to join the Vietnam National Team. That door seemed to have closed with sad stories in the past.
To pioneer a path, the leader must show the ability to succeed. Xuan Son responded well because everyone understood that the Vietnam National Team changed completely when the 27-year-old striker appeared on the field. It was the public and football managers who raised the question of whether a naturalized player was enough, how to naturalize and use the player on the team? The national team is not a club, in addition to achievements on the field, there is also the image of the country, national pride. Nguyen Xuan Son is not like his senior Phan Van Santos. He put his hand on his left chest and sang the Vietnamese National Anthem. Xuan Son traveled by motorbike, ate Vietnamese street food as part of his daily life. It is too early to confirm that Nguyen Xuan Son is successful with the national team. But at least, Xuan Son is the initial model for foreign players to look at when they want to become Vietnamese citizens.
