From leftovers to saviors in Hoang Anh Gia Lai
The 2023-2024 season ended relatively successfully with goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung. It has been a long time since Vietnamese football fans in general and fans of players born in 1997 have seen the goalkeeper from Thanh Hoa play so often.
He played 15 matches for Hoang Anh Gia Lai club, played 1,350 minutes and kept 4 clean sheets. This has reminded many people of memories of Changzhou in 2018 - where Bui Tien Dung shone, playing the hero in U23 Vietnam's victory in winning the runner-up position.
However, the aura of the past is still the past. Because, although he played well in the Hoang Anh Gia Lai shirt in the 2023-2024 season, many people cannot forget how Bui Tien Dung had a journey of struggling to find himself and develop his career.
In 2019, it seemed that after the U23 Asia glory, Tien Dung would become a name competing fiercely for the position of goalkeeper at Hanoi FC, but in the end, he was still ranked behind Van Cong and Phi Minh Long at that time. . When moving to Ho Chi Minh City, the player born in 1997 also had many times ranked behind the number 2 goalkeeper of the Southern team, Pham Van Cuong.
A similar story took place at the Hanoi Police Club. Tien Dung went from competing directly with Filip Nguyen to becoming the number 3 goalkeeper behind Do Sy Huy.
From 2019 to before starting for Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Tien Dung only had 26 matches in V.League in 5 seasons. On average, the Thanh Hoa-born goalkeeper only has about 5 matches in a V.League season and cannot have the number 2 position in the teams he has passed.
Luck smiled once again when Tien Dung moved to play for Hoang Anh Gia Lai to escape the "redundant" situation and left his mark in the 2023-2024 season.
Compete with Patrik Le Giang or continue to be a secondary partner?
After a relatively good season, many rumors suggested that Bui Tien Dung would be signed to a new contract by Hoang Anh Gia Lai . However, he chose to return to the Ho Chi Minh City club with a 3-year contract. However, things are still not going well for Bui Tien Dung. The ambition to monopolize the wooden frame position of the "Red Battleship" is expected to be more difficult for the 27-year-old goalkeeper because in mid-August 2024, Ho Chi Minh City announced the completion of the deal named Patrick Le Giang.
This means that Bui Tien Dung will once again have to enter a new competition to play every week. Patrik Le Giang's rumored salary of up to 18,000 USD makes fans guess the name that coach Phung Thanh Phuong will use more heavily in the squad.
Talking to Lao Dong, former player Duong Hong Son said: "Patrik Le Giang is a goalkeeper who has left his mark in the V.League in the shirt of the Hanoi Police Club. With Bui Tien Dung and Patrik Le Giang in the squad, Ho Chi Minh City's goalkeeper position will have better competition. Coaches will have more options. Who is number 1 and number 2 depends on the coach's tactics. For me, Patrik Le Giang is better in this competition because this player plays well. Strengths are reflexes and ball handling in set situations. This is a stop that can be trusted. Bui Tien Dung's mark at Hoang Anh Gia Lai is not really clear because the Mountain City team still has to compete for relegation."
Thus, Bui Tien Dung must make more efforts to overturn those views. The results will only be answered after the 2024-2025 season, but clearly, to knock Patrik Le Giang to the bench will be a difficult task for Bui Tien Dung.
