Cai Van Quy and her unfinished career at the age of 19

Once caught the eye of coach Philippe Troussier, but not receiving timely injury treatment forced SLNA striker Cai Van Quy to retire in the middle of his career.

"It was the most difficult decision in my short career as a player," Quy told VnExpress , after SLNA Club agreed to terminate his contract and retire.

Born in 2004, Quy is the youngest child in a farming family with two brothers in Thai Hoa town, Nghe An. In 2015, he joined SLNA's football training center. Thanks to his good physique and ability to finish with both feet, Quy has continuously developed, becoming a pillar of SLNA's youth teams that won the National U11, U13 and U15 tournaments.

In August 2019, Quy was the co-top scorer of the National U15 tournament and was called up by coach Dinh The Nam to the Vietnam U15 team to participate in the international U15 football tournament held in Ba Ria - Vung Tau. In this tournament, Vietnam finished second after Korea, and Quy's name also rose with a goal against Russia and a double against Korea. "That was my most memorable tournament. Scoring against Russia - a team from Europe - brought a special, very different feeling," Quy said.

Cai Van Quy celebrates after scoring the goal that helped Vietnam beat Russia 2-0 at the 2019 U15 International Tournament. Photo: Duc Dong

After the U15 international, Quy was called up to the U18 Vietnam team by coach Philippe Troussier, who was then in charge of youth training for Vietnam, for a short training session, and was highly appreciated by the French strategist. Experts nicknamed Quy "King of Youth Tournaments", predicting that he will develop further, becoming a pillar of SLNA as well as a key player of Vietnamese football in the next 10 years.

Returning to the club, Quy continued to "bombard" on many fronts. From the end of March to the beginning of April 2021, when he was 17 years old, Quy was a pillar of SLNA participating in the National U19 finals. In the second match against PVF, after a collision, Quy was injured. Thinking it was only a minor injury, he tried to continue playing, but after running for a few more minutes, he collapsed and asked to be substituted. At the end of this tournament, SLNA finished third - not a bad achievement, but for Quy, it was the beginning of a series of tragic days.

Returning to Nghe An, Quy asked the club's leadership to go for a medical examination, but no one responded. During this period, SLNA was facing turmoil from the top, when Chairman Nguyen Hong Thanh resigned, and the team had not found a sponsor. Quy paid for an MRI scan at the international hospital in Vinh City, and was diagnosed by the doctor with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left leg, requiring surgery for definitive treatment.

Quy continued to propose to the leadership to have surgery, but did not receive a positive response. He then returned to his hometown in Thai Hoa town to recuperate, self-treating for two months. In June of the same year, when an economic group took over SLNA, Quy and another colleague, Tran Van Cuong, were taken by the club to the 108 Military Central Hospital for ligament surgery.

Cai Van Quy (middle) in a recent training session at SLNA before retiring. Photo: Character provided

After three days of surgery, Quy returned home for two weeks, then proposed to the club to send him to a rehabilitation center in Hanoi at a cost of 20 million VND per month. After two months, Quy was on the path of rehabilitation when SLNA called him back to practice at the club. He often went to the field to jog to maintain his fitness and went to the gym to work on his muscles. In mid-2022, a year after leaving the field, Quy returned to practice with his teammates.

"Because of the long break, I lost all sense of the ball, did not dare to run fast or stretch. Sometimes I felt shy, afraid of collision. The old aggressiveness was gone, my knees were no longer stable," Quy said. "I don't understand why my physical strength has declined so much, maybe because I did not receive physical therapy after ligament surgery, and the rehabilitation process was not systematic because of the lack of guidance."

While his career was struggling, at the end of 2022, Quy's family suffered a major change when his father and grandmother passed away. After receiving two consecutive shocks, Quy collapsed and lost all emotions. At this time, his brother was in his third year of university, the economy was difficult, his mother had to work many jobs to earn money to support him, Quy decided to quit football to find another job to help his family. However, regretting the time spent training, he told himself to try one last time to see how far he could go.

In March, Quy was a member of SLNA participating in the national U19 qualifying round. However, he always had to play with a bandaged knee, contributed little, often had to leave the field early, and the team did not make it to the final round. After this tournament, realizing that he was no longer outstanding compared to his teammates of the same age, Quy decided to retire. He submitted a request to terminate his contract to the club's leadership and was approved on August 31.

The former young player of SLNA plans to study sports coaching after retiring. Photo: Character provided

"Before thinking about retiring, I had many sleepless nights. My father is a football fanatic, but unfortunately, I could not continue playing according to his wishes. My mother initially advised me to try my best, but after understanding my health condition, she let me decide on my own," Quy shared, adding that she had thought about moving to other teams to seek her luck, but due to SLNA's regulations, when players must comply with youth training contracts until the age of 24, she did not dare to propose it to the club's leadership.

Tran Dinh Tien, a former SLNA player, felt regretful that Quy had to retire at such a young age. "He is quiet, gentle, and has very good football skills. It is a pity for Nghe An and Vietnamese football," he said.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Nghia, Director of SLNA Youth Football Training Center, also commented that Quy is a talent but has no luck with top-level football. "After the injury, Quy could not train in large volumes. When Quy and his family wanted to terminate the contract, the club's leaders were very worried and hesitant, but still had to create conditions for him to find a new direction," said Mr. Nghia.

Quy said that when he returned from SLNA, his relatives and neighbors were all sad. The 19-year-old former player will stay home for a while to regain his spirit, and plans to apply to Bac Ninh University of Physical Education and Sports to study sports coaching, specializing in football.

Duc Hung

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