Touching teacher-student relationship on shirt with words expressing gratitude to coach Mai Duc Chung

After the match with the Japanese women's team, the Vietnamese women's team players "fought" to take photos with coach Mai Duc Chung. They wrote many words of gratitude to their teacher on the number 9 shirt of Huynh Nhu - the player who worked with Mr. Chung for the longest time and is the team captain - as a gift after the match, which could very well be his last before retiring.

Coach Mai Duc Chung has not officially left the Vietnam national team, but his intention is to rest after the end of this contract.

A hasty note

Each line of the autograph book contains emotional wishes and stories from Huynh Nhu and her teammates for Mr. Mai Duc Chung. Signing jerseys as gifts is a common thing, but each signature comes with a few lines of thoughts that only "General Chung" can receive.

It is exactly a version of the image of a school yearbook. It must be the most sincere emotion and respect that makes the players come together to create such a special gift.

It was like going back to the student days, the time when they were still in school and now it was time to say goodbye to the teacher they loved so much. Emotion, familiarity, regret and sadness were what the fans felt.

The match against the Japanese women's team was like the last lesson. All the players tried their best in every step they took. They knew that after today, they would most likely no longer be taught, nor would they hear the compliments, criticisms, encouragements, or scoldings of "Uncle Chung" on the field.

Coach Mai Duc Chung has been involved with Vietnamese women's football for many periods since 1997. As for the current squad of the Vietnamese women's team, there are people who have worked with him for eight years. In football, that is a very long time.

Mr. Chung "xe ca" is there with the highest trust from the fans, from the leaders of the Vietnam Football Federation and most of all, the students. Coach Mai Duc Chung's decisions do not always satisfy everyone - but the players' respect for him has never changed.

The teacher-student relationship creates the brand "Uncle Chung"

Coach Mai Duc Chung is truly a teacher and a father to many Vietnamese female players. Each life has a different fate. Mr. Chung is there, listening and sharing. During a visit to Coach Mai Duc Chung near Tet, the writer was told a sad and unforgettable story.

A player - also a student he had known for a long time - had family problems. Her husband did not treat her well. Coach Mai Duc Chung, who was not a relative, got angry because of his student's frustration and called the other guy to "scold him". He loved his students as if they were his own children or grandchildren.

There were other players who went to practice like they had lost their souls, and they couldn't control the ball. Mr. Chung didn't rush to scold his students in public. The coach personally met them privately and asked them about it, only then did he know that it was the day of the funeral for his late father. Mr. Chung took out his own money, asked his students to light incense, and gave the player a day off to take care of the funeral.

These two small stories are not extraordinary, even very ordinary, but they illustrate the character of Coach Mai Duc Chung. They are also the most important factors for his success with women's football and creating a "brand" for Coach Mai Duc Chung - a Party member, a soldier and most importantly, a good person.

Obviously, Coach Mai Duc Chung is an excellent coach in terms of expertise. Don't forget that he was very successful when leading men's football teams in the V-League. Mr. Chung won the V-League and the National Cup with Binh Duong Club, and won the National Cup with Navibank Saigon. When he came to Thanh Hoa, he made the Thanh team "change its skin" and helped Thanh Hoa win the first V-League medal.

In women's football, coach Mai Duc Chung's success is the pinnacle, a uniqueness that may take a long time for another colleague to reach. He led the Vietnamese women's team to win the SEA Games gold medal 6 times. He and his students got a ticket to the 2023 Women's World Cup with a long-term plan prepared for many years.

"Winning hearts and minds" - an art that seems very difficult but is expressed simply by Coach Mai Duc Chung with his sincerity. The Vietnamese women's team always plays with dedication to the Fatherland, with what they learned from Coach Mai Duc Chung and with all their affection for their teacher.