It's a pity for a talent
In 2017, Nguyen Quang Hai was named in the Top 3 nominees for the Vietnam Golden Ball for the first time. At the age of 20, the captain of the U20 Vietnam team participating in the U20 World Cup finals at that time received the Bronze Ball award. Everyone believes that this is the beginning of Quang Hai's brilliant career.
Impressive performance in the U23 Asian Cup finals, ASIAD 18, ASEAN Cup 2018 in the U23 shirt, as well as the impressive performance of the Vietnam national team in the Hanoi FC shirt at V.League helped Quang Hai convincingly win the 2018 Vietnam Golden Ball.
A year later, Do Hung Dung created a breakthrough at the 30th SEA Games in the Philippines. This contributed to Quang Hai losing the title of Vietnam Golden Ball for the second consecutive time. Also in 2019, the midfielder born in 1997 was voted the best player in Southeast Asia, surpassing Chanathip Songkrasin - the number 1 bright star of Thailand and regional football
The scenario of Quang Hai missing the Golden Ball unfortunately continued in 2021, due to a sudden phenomenon. In fact, the midfielder from Dong Anh still plays very well. In the second and third qualifiers of the 2022 World Cup, he scored 2 goals and 1 assist. Against Saudi Arabia, Australia or Japan, Quang Hai was still confident in holding the ball to deploy the game for the Vietnam team.
It was a pity for Quang Hai that Hoang Duc - the other person who was considered to be able to go abroad - won the 2021 Vietnam Golden Ball.
The player from Hai Duong only started from the match between Vietnam and Malaysia in the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup but played very explosively. In particular, when the "Golden Star Warriors" played a defensive counter-attack against strong teams in the third qualifying round, Hoang Duc's influence became even more evident.
More Than Quang Hai in many matches in the 3rd qualifying round, Hoang Duc also made his mark in the 2020 ASEAN Cup with 1 goal and 2 assists after 6 matches of the Vietnam team. Thanks to creating an impressive breakthrough, Hoang Duc surpassed Quang Hai to win the first Vietnam Golden Ball in his career.
When is Quang Hai?
The story at the Vietnam Golden Ball in 2020 and 2024 is quite similar to Quang Hai. He was in the Top 5 nominees but was not voted in the Top 3 Best Players. In both of those times, the midfielder born in 1997 did not attend the final awards Gala.
In 2020, Quang Hai was unstable in the first phase of the V.League. It was not until his return, his impressive form, that Hanoi FC accelerated before winning the runner-up position (2 points behind champion The Cong Viettel). In the National Cup arena, Quang Hai was the one who scored the decisive goal to help the capital team win the championship. However, Hai "child" could not compete with his seniors Van Quyet, Tien Dung and Que Ngoc Hai.
4 years later, Quang Hai also started quite slowly in the Hanoi Police shirt as well as the national team. But in the second half of 2024, this midfielder has played better in the fronts he has been involved in.
At the 2024 ASEAN Cup, Quang Hai scored 2 goals, 2 assists and 11 passes to create opportunities for his teammates. This number is even better than Hoang Duc - the winner of the 2024 Vietnam Silver Ball. But in the end, Quang Hai still did not make the Top 3.
Besides the somewhat regrettable shortcomings, Quang Hai also had a period of decline.
Having to sit on the bench continuously at Pau FC (France) caused Quang Hai to lose many opportunities to show himself. When returning to the Vietnam national team to participate in the ASEAN Cup 2022, this player was lackluster and did not play convincingly.
In the end, many people still wonder when Quang Hai will win the Vietnam Golden Ball?
