Vietnam Golden Ball 2023 Nguyen Hoang Duc: From a boy who forgot to eat to play football to the "conductor" of Vietnamese football

Nguyen Hoang Duc: From a boy who forgot to eat to play soccer to the "conductor" of Vietnamese soccer

26 is the age when players start to show their ability at maturity. Above them will be the seniors who are reaching the age of 30 and starting to step into the other side of the career slope. But below them, many young players have begun to have the opportunity to explode.

If he can prove his expertise and bring great confidence in the dressing room, a player aged 25-26 has a great opportunity to become the core of the team. For Vietnamese football, Nguyen Hoang Duc is such a player.

In just 3 years, Hoang Duc has gone from a talented young player to an irreplaceable pillar in the midfield of the Vietnam National Team. One after another, many older and experienced midfielders such as Huy Hung, Duc Huy, Tuan Anh, and Xuan Truong had to make way for the midfielder born in 1998.

Hoang Duc is considered the link between two generations of Vietnamese football talent. Under the reign of coach Park Hang Seo, he skillfully integrated Hoang Duc into the squad of names that had developed their names early on such as Bui Tien Dung, Duy Manh, Ngoc Hai or Cong Phuong...

The above names are considered "seniors" who guided Nguyen Hoang Duc in the early days of this midfielder "eating national team food". The midfielder born in 1998 plays the role of "boss" of the midfield of the Vietnam National Team as well as the leader in the playing style of his home club Viettel.

With his rapidly rising career, few people expected Hoang Duc to have started playing soccer since he was in second grade. The midfielder from Hai Duong and his friends often went to the street corner to play soccer after lunch. There were even days when Hoang Duc skipped lunch to play soccer.

Just 2 years later, Duc's football talent was discovered by the teachers at Hai Duong Youth Football Training Center and they wanted to bring him to the training center. Passionate about the round ball and determined when starting his professional career, Hoang Duc was always highly appreciated by the teachers for his playing techniques and will to strive to improve. In particular, this midfielder was often given the captain's armband when participating in youth tournaments.

At the 2016 National U19 Finals held in Nha Trang, the player from Hai Duong left a strong impression and was voted the best player of the tournament that year. In 2017, Hoang Duc officially joined Viettel Club. With his impressive height and unique left-footed style of play, Hoang Duc was used by the coaches as a central midfielder in the starting lineup.

2018 was the year when Hoang Duc exploded. He started 17 out of 18 matches in various positions, scored 9 goals and had 3 assists to help Viettel win the 2018 first division championship, thereby being promoted to the V-League in 2019. The young star was voted the best player of the season.

2020 continued to be an explosive year for Hoang Duc when he was one of the key players of Viettel and with this team won the V-League championship and was runner-up in the National Cup at the end of the season.

Hoang Duc's playing career with the Vietnam National Team has also been extremely impressive. In the second stage of the 2nd qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, Hoang Duc was the first to start in an official match of the Vietnam National Team against Malaysia when Quang Hai was suspended, and Hung Dung's injury partly helped him have more opportunities to show his talent.

Since then, he has always been a starter for the National Team in the matches of the 3rd qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup and has had excellent performances, attracting many Asian clubs to contact him. However, Hoang Duc remained loyal to Viettel, the team later changed its name to The Cong Viettel.

2023 is a special year, when Vietnamese football enters a transitional period at both the national championship and the national team level. However, Hoang Duc is still one of the most outstanding individuals. If counting the 2023 V-League season alone, Hoang Duc started all 20 matches for The Cong Viettel Club, played 1,735 minutes (played the entire 17 matches, was substituted 3 times), and scored 5 goals.

The 25-year-old midfielder was later voted the best player of the tournament with a great influence on the playing style. Although The Cong Viettel rejuvenated the squad, gave opportunities to many new faces, and also gave the coaching authority to a young "general" like Thach Bao Khanh, the army team still played well when they ranked 3rd in the V-League and came second in the National Cup last year. The factor that greatly contributed to helping The Cong Viettel go in the right direction was none other than Hoang Duc.

Thanks to his tactical vision, ability to control the game, control the rhythm and coordinate, Hoang Duc is the real "conductor" of The Cong Viettel. The player born in 1998 has a very "unique" playing style, and is a rare type of midfielder in Vietnamese football.

Full name: Nguyen Hoang Duc

Date of birth: 11/1/1998

Height: 1m85

Position: Central midfielder

Home club: The Cong Viettel

Career achievements:

Viettel Sports:

1st Place: Champion 2018

V-League: Champion 2020

National Cup: Runner-up 2020

National Super Cup: Runner-up 2020

National team:

U19 Asia: Fourth place 2016

U19 Southeast Asia: Third place 2016

SEA Games: Champion 2019 and 2021

Personal titles:

Vietnam Golden Ball 2021

Vietnam Bronze Ball 2022