Turning point in Xuan Son's life

HEARING THE SOUND OF SPRING IS SEEING THE COMING OF SPRING

"This is my first spring as a Vietnamese citizen. Therefore, everything is very special and lovely," Nguyen Xuan Son shared with Thanh Nien on the days leading up to Tet At Ty 2025, when next to him were colorful flower bouquets prepared by his wife Marcele Seippel herself, and in the hands of the striker born in 1997 was a banh chung cake given by the Nam Dinh Club's fan club. It was a Tet gift with the sincerity of the Vietnamese people, along with a short but loving wish: "Nam Dinh fans miss Xuan Son very much and are always waiting for you to return."

Xuan Son is a naturalized player who made an impressive debut for the Vietnamese national team.

Perhaps, it was the sincere feelings in a new land that was still unfamiliar just 5 years ago that urged the young Rafaelson to decide to bet his future here. At the end of 2019, when Vietnamese football was intoxicated with victory with the 30th SEA Games gold medal as well as a series of achievements under coach Park Hang-seo, Rafaelson was bewildered and packed his luggage to Vietnam, choosing Nam Dinh Club for a trial. Compared to other foreign players with both reputation and experience who were lining up to sign contracts with V-League teams at that time, the 23-year-old Rafaelson did not have much to say, apart from the short years of training at Vitoria Club (Brazil), before a 3-year adventure in Japan and Denmark (playing only 24 matches). He was inexperienced and had no name, so he could only hope for the Nam Dinh team, which was also struggling to avoid relegation, and had no money to buy luxury foreign players.

However, Xuan Son's luggage also includes the determination to rebuild his career, in a tournament where most foreign players do not stay with each team for more than 2 seasons. In the first 3 seasons playing for Nam Dinh, Da Nang and Binh Dinh, Xuan Son did not score more than 6 goals/season. However, he still left an impression with his aggressive playing style and dedication and perseverance in his career.

Xuan Son only needed 1 season to be loved by the "poor" Nam Dinh team with his sincere smile and tireless running steps, trying to carry the young team to a safe finish line in the final round. As for Xuan Son personally, the difficult journey in the V-League has fostered his love for Vietnam. Through each season, between the decision to stay in Vietnam or choose to seek opportunities in new lands with higher salaries such as Thailand and Malaysia, he followed the call of his heart. Xuan Son's efforts were rewarded with an explosive 2023 season with Binh Dinh Club with 16 goals. By mid-2023, Xuan Son returned to Nam Dinh when he and the team had changed. Xuan Son became a real "killer", welcomed by many teams with red carpets. Nam Dinh Club is no longer a "poor but good student" team, but has enough potential to give Xuan Son a better salary and quality teammates. That "remarriage" brought about a perfect sweet result, with Nam Dinh winning the 2023 - 2024 V-League championship, Xuan Son's top scorer title with 31 goals, and a "brown-skinned, black-eyed" Vietnamese citizen contributing to bringing the national team to the top of the 2024 AFF Cup.

LOVE VN WITH ALL MY HEART

Unlike many foreign players who always have difficulty adapting to the climate, cuisine, football culture and life in Vietnam, Xuan Son accepts everything very naturally. He loved Vietnam from the very beginning and that love has grown over time, this player always feels the love of the people and the country for him.

Xuan Son's happy family

And when you fall in love, adapting becomes simple. Even the way Xuan Son changed from "the Westerner" to "the Vietnamese" cannot be called adapting. When Xuan Son did not try to change, but he accepted the new country and new culture with all his heart. Everyone in the Nam Dinh team knew that Xuan Son always tried to learn Vietnamese by himself, humming the Vietnamese National Anthem long before he had citizenship. He loved fried banana cakes at the intersection of Bac Ninh - Nguyen Du (Nam Dinh) so much that the image of the Brazilian striker taking his wife to buy a whole bag of banana cakes to eat gradually became familiar to the people here.

"I love Vietnam, I love everything here. Vietnam is my second homeland," Xuan Son affirmed. And without needing to share those words, perhaps just looking at Xuan Son's endless energy and self-sacrificing spirit at the AFF Cup 2024 or at the V-League, it seems that everyone can feel how much he loves the red flag with the yellow star. Although he does not have Vietnamese blood flowing in his veins, Xuan Son will always be a proud and proud Vietnamese! (to be continued)

Xuan Son is still recovering from an injury (suffered in the second leg of the 2024 AFF Cup final against Thailand). He is in phase 2 of the recovery process. In this phase, Xuan Son is increasing his rehabilitation, including exercises to support movement, physical training and control the bone healing process. This is the time when the 28-year-old striker will begin gentle exercises to strengthen his injured leg, while maintaining overall fitness. Phase 2 of Xuan Son will last 4 weeks. After that, he will undergo phase 3 and 4 of recovery, with a total duration of 4 months. It is expected that by September, Xuan Son will be able to move normally to return to the field.

The striker born in 1997 missed two matches of the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, against Laos (March 25) and Malaysia (June 10). Xuan Son could return on October 9, when Vietnam hosts Nepal in the third match at home.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/buoc-ngoat-cuoc-doi-cua-xuan-son-185250221224827032.htm