It is the rush of Vietnamese players’ ‘Korean Dream’.
Cheonan City FC has hired striker Vu Minh Hieu (21, Vu Minh Hieu) and defender Nguyen Canh Anh (23, Nguyen Canh Anh), the ‘next 스포츠토토generation runners’ of Vietnamese football, on loan. The two are from Hoang Ain Gia Lai (HAGL), which is playing the role of a hotpot in Vietnamese football. Starting from the HAGL youth team, he experienced his professional stage. In addition, through the national team by age group, he is growing into the next-generation Vietnamese national team.
Ahn caught the eye of former Vietnam soccer team coach Park Hang-seo (64) and joined the Vietnam U-22 national team in 2020. Hieu was selected for the under-23 (U-23) national team at the age of 20 and raised expectations. He was the youngest player in HAGL history to debut in the first team, and he was evaluated as the ‘second Kong Phuong’ as he skipped his national team. Both players are expected to have a decent physique of 1m80 and the ability to digest multiple positions. Cheonan coach Park Nam-yeol confirmed the growth potential of the two players through tests and evaluated them as resources that could help the team in the K-League 2. An official from Cheonan said, “The Korean wave of football that spread to Vietnam has become a hotter wind and is now blowing toward Korea.”
Previously, Seoul E-Land recruited Vietnamese national representative Nguyen Van Toan (27). He is the first Southeast Asian quarter player in the club’s history. Van Toan is a side striker who has played in 47 A-matches for the Vietnamese national team since 2016. Van Toan said, “It is true that it is difficult to move the team and live abroad, especially. I will overcome it for my future. I made this choice for a new challenge.”
Head coach Park Hang-seo said at a press conference on the 14th, “Vietnam is very conservative about player transfers. (Past) Nguyen Cong Phuong experienced (the K-League) and talked a lot about how difficult it was in terms of physical strength, fighting, etc. I hope Vietnamese clubs have an open mind to advance overseas. When the opportunity arises, I will talk through the media so that Vietnamese players can go to a better league,” strongly supporting the Vietnamese players’ ‘Korean Dream’.