Mac Hong Quan, Van Lam to Viktor Le, Tran Thanh Trung
In May 2015, U22 Vietnam under the guidance of coach Toshiya Miura received a special letter of encouragement. Dang Van Lam - a Vietnamese-American goalkeeper from Russia expressed his wish to compete with the team at the 28th SEA Games.
In the context of the regional sports festival starting a month later, the Japanese strategist decided to reject Van Lam's wishes. However, he still registered another overseas Vietnamese player in the U22 Vietnam squad, Mac Hong Quan.
Having spent time in the V.League for Thanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Hung Vuong An Giang... The player who grew up from Sparta Praha (Czech Republic) was trusted by Mr. Miura to be arranged the striker position, along with Huy Toan and Cong Phuong. The striker born in 1992 played well until the semi-final against Myanmar.
Mac Hong Quan's missed unfortunate opportunities became part of the reason, preventing U22 Vietnam from advancing to the finals. His tears fell after that bitter defeat.
After Hong Quan, U22 Vietnam has not used any overseas Vietnamese players at the SEA Games for the past decade. Martin Lo and Andrej Nguyen An Khanh attended and followed unsuccessful attempts, in the gatherings under their predecessors Park Hang-seo and Philippe Troussier.
It was not until the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand that coach Kim Sang Sik was ready to give overseas Vietnamese players a chance to return. Viktor Le has been an important piece for U22 Vietnam throughout the training process that has lasted for the past year. Meanwhile, Tran Thanh Trung was added at the last minute, when captain Nguyen Van Truong suffered a serious injury.
Compared to 10 years ago, the view of giving opportunities to "second generation" players in Southeast Asian football is increasingly open. In Vietnam, national teams at all levels also continuously experiment, evaluate and create conditions for overseas Vietnamese to play alongside.
Trust Viktor Le
Returning to the current U22 Vietnam team, compared to Tran Thanh Trung, Viktor Le has more opportunities to play. In addition to accompanying the team for nearly 9 months, the Russian adult player is considered a "second Mac Hong Quan". Saying so is because before being selected by coach Kim Sang-sik, Viktor Le had played in the V.League for nearly 3 years for Binh Dinh and Hong Linh Ha Tinh.
Last season, the 22-year-old player started 15 times, playing a total of 24 rounds in Ha Tinh. In addition to 3 goals and 2 assists, Viktor Le also left a strong impression with his ability to dribble, dribble and rotate in tight spaces.
That metaphor continues to be promoted this season. Under the leadership of new head coach Nguyen Cong Manh, Viktor Le played the full 11 rounds of the V.League. He also left his mark in 2 goals and 1 assist, contributing to Hong Linh Ha Tinh temporarily being in a safe position on the rankings.
Viktor Le's ability is highly appreciated by coach Kim Sang-sik. The Korean coach affirmed that he knew how to promote and use him at the right time, in order to create a necessary turning point in the playing style and results for U22 Vietnam.
This was clearly demonstrated in the U23 Asian qualifiers 2 months ago. Every time he enters the field from the bench, Viktor Le brings a big difference to the home team, through dribbling into the "favorite" defense or taking unexpected shots himself.
Tran Thanh Trung did not have a long journey like Viktor Le. He has only appeared in Vietnam since August after saying goodbye to Bulgarian football. However, the potential contract of Ninh Binh is assessed by the coaching staff to be able to fill the role left by Van Truong. Van Truong himself also emphasized Thanh Trung's professional value after seeing this player demonstrate his skills on the training and competition field.
