10 years of effort for the red flag with yellow star

Born and raised in the Czech Republic, but for the past 10 years, goalkeeper Filip Nguyen has never given up hope of returning to play for the Vietnam national team, and now that dream has come true.

Thủ môn Việt kiều Filip Nguyễn: 10 năm nỗ lực vì lá cờ đỏ sao vàng

At the end of December 2023, Filip Nguyen was officially named in the list of players called up to attend the 2023 Asian Cup Finals by Coach Troussier, thereby fulfilling his dream of playing for the Vietnam national team. (Source: SGGP)

Famous in Europe

Filip Nguyen was born in 1992, his father is Vietnamese and his mother is from the Czech Republic, one of the countries with the largest Vietnamese population in Europe. When he was 6 years old, Filip Nguyen's parents divorced and he lived with his mother from that time until adulthood.

Every weekend, he comes home to visit his father and enjoy Vietnamese cuisine, of which bun cha is the dish that leaves the most impression on him. During their walks, father and son hum the national anthem, deeply reminding him of the feelings of a son far away from home for his second homeland - Vietnam.

Filip Nguyen confided: “I like bun cha. Until now, I can still pronounce bun cha quite fluently. Vietnamese dishes appear quite a lot at Sapa market, a land area of more than 30 hectares in the Czech Republic where my father takes me every day. Vietnamese shops are present in the Czech Republic.”

“It seems to be a connection between me and Vietnam, besides the love from my father. I am aware that I have two bloodlines. One is the Czech Republic and the other is Vietnam. Later, when I played professionally for Slovan Liberec or Slovacko in the National Championship, I still chose Nguyen on the back of my shirt. Because it is a part of me, an origin that I am proud of, among other teammates in the Czech Republic”. The goalkeeper born in 1992 shared.

Regarding his journey with the king sport, since the age of 9, Filip Nguyen was exposed to football early and played for the Academy of ABC Branik Prague, a small football team near where Filip Nguyen's family lived. At the age of 17, he caught the eye of scouts from Sparta Praha, this was an important milestone marking his professional career at the most traditional club in the Czech Republic.

A year later, Filip Nguyen was promoted to the first team as a reserve goalkeeper. After 2 years as a “supporting actor” and not playing a single game, he decided to leave the team to go to Cidlina Novy Bydzov. Here, Filip Nguyen had 36 games in the 2015/2016 season, he quickly advanced and decided to move to Vlasim.

After 2 seasons playing for Vlasim FC, Filip Nguyen joined Liberec Slovan and his name gradually became widely known. However, few people know that before joining Liberec Slovan, Filip Nguyen returned to Vietnam for a trial with Thanh Hoa Club in 2016, but due to many obstacles, the deal did not work out.

Filip Nguyen has 8 years of professional playing for teams in the Czech Republic's domestic league, including Liberec Slovan (2018-2022) and won the title of Best Goalkeeper of the Czech Republic National Championship in the 2018/2019 season; playing for Slovacko (2021-2023) and winning the Czech Republic National Cup in the 2021/2022 season.

He was first called up to the Czech Republic national team in September 2020. The Vietnamese-American goalkeeper was part of the Czech team's reserve squad because the main squad was infected with Covid-19. Since then, Filip Nguyen's name has always been on the Czech Football Federation's reserve list. He was even registered as a reserve for 10 matches from 2020 until the end of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Goalkeeper Filip Nguyen has played for the Hanoi Police Club since June 2023 and has had an explosive performance, contributing to the capital team's 2022/2023 V-League championship. (Source: Hanoi Police)

Dedicated to the red shirt with yellow star

From the 2023 season, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) decided that each club playing in the professional league, women's national championship, futsal is allowed to register 1 overseas Vietnamese player, thereby helping Filip Nguyen to play in the V-League without the club having to spend a foreign player slot. Therefore, the Hanoi Police Club spent a lot of money to compensate Filip Nguyen's contract and brought him back in June 2023.

On December 19, goalkeeper Filip Nguyen officially received Vietnamese citizenship. This is a sufficient condition for Filip Nguyen to complete the procedure to wear the national team jersey. After nearly 10 years and the efforts of his family and various organizations, Filip officially became a Vietnamese citizen and brought his family back to his second homeland to settle down in a new life.

Filip Nguyen shared: “I remember one evening in early December, when the whole family was having dinner, a phone call rang. My father picked up the call, and his eyes started to turn red and filled with tears. I thought my citizenship application was rejected. I told him: 'It's okay, let's try again'. Actually, I was sad too. But I've been used to it for the past 9 years. But this time, everything was different. My father laughed and said: 'No, I'm just kidding. I'm crying because we succeeded. Your application was approved. You have Vietnamese citizenship, you have become a Vietnamese citizen!'”

On December 19, goalkeeper Filip Nguyen officially received Vietnamese citizenship and is eligible to play for the Vietnam national team. (Source: VFF)

At the end of December 2023, Filip Nguyen was officially named in the list of players called up to attend the 2023 Asian Cup Finals by Coach Troussier. He frankly shared that it was difficult for him to have the opportunity to create a breakthrough in his name in the Czech Republic, in the national team, even if he was well-rated in Slovacko or Slovan Liberec. The Vietnamese team is still the right choice for Filip Nguyen, because he wants to define himself at the national team level.

The end of December 2023 and the beginning of January witnessed Filip Nguyen wearing the red flag with the yellow star. He enthusiastically participated in the photo shoot and video recording with the national team, had the opportunity to tell his story to TV reporters, as well as gradually get to know and talk with the Vietnamese players.

“I feel great because my teammates are friendly. I think everything is perfect. I think they are all the best players, worthy of wearing the Vietnam national team jersey. I believe the team will achieve success,” said Filip Nguyen.

Besides, his teammates on the Vietnam national team always respect and welcome him openly. Midfielder Do Hung Dung highly appreciates Filip Nguyen's talent. Dinh Trieu, Filip Nguyen's roommate, has supported him a lot. "He also helped me learn many new Vietnamese words and translated into English for me during meetings or training sessions. Dinh Trieu is truly a great friend," Filip Nguyen confided.

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