There is a Xuan Son who loves Vietnam so much.

The perfect piece named Xuan Son

2 goals, 2 assists and countless beautiful moments on Viet Tri Stadium on the evening of December 21st helped Nguyen Xuan Son become the rookie to debut for the Vietnam national team in the most impressive way in history. The striker born in 1997 has turned the expectations of fans, the team and himself over the past weeks into a source of motivation to shine brightly.

Xuan Son shone brightly in his debut match for the Vietnamese national team.

Never before has the Vietnamese team witnessed such a high-class performance. Xuan Son swept the field, Xuan Son scored, Xuan Son assisted, Xuan Son connected the play... The Brazilian striker "did everything" on the attacking front, creating inspiration for his teammates to play better and more effectively. He "set the table" for Vi Hao and Tien Linh to score, ran to open space for Quang Hai to shoot from afar into the Myanmar net, and put his name on the scoreboard himself with both strong and skillful handling. The quintessence of the striker who scored 31 goals in the V-League last season was revealed to elevate the Vietnamese team's attacking system.

And Xuan Son's debut day was even more beautiful because of the way the 27-year-old striker showed his love for Vietnam. He ran extremely enthusiastically, tried his best in every pass and kissed the flag on his chest, with every effort and loving gesture explained as "all for the Vietnamese fans". 5 years ago, Xuan Son (then named Rafaelson) had a chance to join Vietnamese football when he moved to Nam Dinh, a team that was struggling to avoid relegation, but had a great affinity with good foreign players. Although Xuan Son's 6 goals did not meet all expectations when Nam Dinh only narrowly avoided relegation in the final round, the energy and winning spirit (one of the factors that experts consider innate and very difficult to train) of the striker who was only 23 years old at that time left a strong impression in the hearts of fans in Thanh Nam.

If his perseverance helped Xuan Son catch the eye of many V-League teams, even though he was only playing for a relegation candidate at that time, his love for Vietnam kept Xuan Son continuing his adventure despite initial difficulties. Normally, foreign players coming to Vietnam fall into one of two categories: coming to V-League to play football at the end of their career to retire, or playing as "mercenaries" who travel here and there. Xuan Son is a rare exception. He packed his bags and came to Vietnam to play at the best stage of his career, accepting to start in moderate teams to seek opportunities. Then in Nam Dinh, Da Nang, Binh Dinh, and then when he returned to his starting point in Nam Dinh, Xuan Son's class gradually increased, along with his love for Vietnam. Xuan Son and his family settled down in their second homeland. He learned Vietnamese, starting from daily communication to commands during matches. Xuan Son and his wife and children ride a motorbike to the market to buy banana cakes, stroll around the streets to eat and live like a real Vietnamese.

After the explosive 2023-2024 season with the top scorer title and the title of best player of the tournament, Xuan Son received many attractive offers, including an invitation from a team playing in Saudi Arabia. These are all invitations with higher salaries than in Nam Dinh, which can help Xuan Son change his life. Growing up in a "slum" in Brazil, playing football with torn shoes and having to travel everywhere to play football for a living, Xuan Son clearly understands the value of money. Playing football is just a "fishing rod" to support his family and if he can choose a more prosperous life for his wife and children, he is willing to do it.

However, the striker born in 1997 also understands that football is not purely about money, but also passion and love. Because in addition to training and playing hours, players also have a life off the field. Vietnam opened its arms to Rafaelson when he was young and when he became Xuan Son now, the 27-year-old striker decided to stay. There is a story that few people know: Xuan Son diligently studied the language, learned to sing the entire Vietnamese national anthem even though his speech was still... faltering, and learned about the team through videos and teammates long before he had Vietnamese citizenship.

As for coach Kim Sang-sik, he had included Xuan Son in his plan, specifically for the striker position, many months ago. Xuan Son had the heart and Vietnam also had the will. When the thinking about "should a naturalized player without Vietnamese origin wear the national team's jersey" gradually became more open, Xuan Son came. It was simply the right person, the right time.

Another story about Xuan Son is the name he chose. Son chose “Xuan” as his middle name, because “xuan” means luck. Spring also begins the new year with many aspirations. Coach Kim Sang-sik said that for Xuan Son, the Vietnamese national team will be a new beginning. And as the World Football Federation said, hearing spring comes means seeing Xuan Son, seeing a “Western man” who was still confused years ago has become “Vietnamese man”, with a love for the red flag with a yellow star that is no less than anyone else.

BOOST FOR VN TEAM

The “5-star” victory over Myanmar showed what the Vietnamese team can do with a versatile striker. Coach Kim Sang-sik can build a more varied and flexible playing style. If you want to play on the wing, there is a striker who is ready to cut in and fight in the air. If you want to counterattack, there is also a “rocket” who can sprint across half the length of the field to break through and score. If you want to attack aggressively, there is also a striker who drops back to coordinate passing and passing to open up space for teammates to penetrate. Xuan Son is suitable for many playing styles, to the point that in the Vietnamese team, there are jokes that if you are stuck for the ball, just… pass it to Xuan Son, the solution will automatically appear.

Of course, Mr. Kim will not let the Vietnamese team depend on Xuan Son's inspiration. Football is a collective sport, one star cannot change the whole system, especially when the obstacles in front of Xuan Son and his teammates such as Singapore or Thailand/Philippines (if they reach the final) are all teams with deep defense and excellent formation organization, not immature and careless like Myanmar.

Xuan Son's excellent debut will also make him a target for close attention from opponents. At that time, the Vietnamese team will need a backup source of firepower. This is the problem that coach Kim and his assistant are trying to solve. The good news is that Quang Hai has regained his inspiration, Tien Linh still scores regularly, and Vi Hao and Van Vi, although not yet certain, have scored points thanks to their enthusiasm.

Van Toan's injury may force the Vietnamese team to change their plans. Without the fast, unpredictable and well-versed striker Xuan Son, coach Kim Sang-sik will consider alternative solutions. Thanks to the diverse rotation strategy in the group stage, the Vietnamese team is at a good physical peak, not tired even though they have just played 4 matches in 12 days. The trump cards have only now appeared one by one and believe that in the semi-final match against Singapore, Mr. Kim will have a way to surprise his opponent. It could be introducing the "double-barreled gun" Xuan Son - Tien Linh, the duo who together scored 2 goals in just the last few minutes. Maybe Quang Hai and Hai Long will return to the winger position. Believe that the Vietnamese team still has many tricks up their sleeves to decide the difficult challenge against Singapore on December 26 and 29.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/co-mot-xuan-son-yeu-viet-nam-den-the-185241222224212611.htm