The Year of the Dragon 2024 is the first time Nguyen Filip has experienced the Lunar New Year in Vietnam, as a Vietnamese citizen. The overseas Vietnamese goalkeeper just completed the naturalization procedure at the end of last year and became a national player. This milestone opens a new chapter in Nguyen Filip's career and life, starting with celebrating the first Tet in his father's homeland.
In the last days of the year, Nguyen Filip and his wife - Aneta Nguyen are busy preparing for the Tet holiday. Aneta is also a Vietnamese expatriate. Therefore, his family is familiar with the Tet customs. The goalkeeper of the Vietnamese national team even joked that he sometimes feels jealous of his wife because she understands Vietnam better than he does.
Nguyen Filip celebrates Tet for the first time as a Vietnamese citizen.
Having a wife of Vietnamese blood is also a blessing for Filip during the busy days at the end of the year. He cannot do everything himself to prepare for Tet holiday while still having to think about training and competition. Filip and his teammates will take the field in V.League on February 18.
“You know, V.League is back next week. Luckily, my wife is very capable. She has had Vietnamese nationality for 10 years. In addition, Aneta has many relatives in Vietnam. I still tease her that she is more Vietnamese than me.
During this time, while I was still busy practicing, she rolled up her sleeves to decorate the house, cook and learn how to arrange flowers to prepare a proper Vietnamese Tet meal," Filip bragged about his wife.
The goalkeeper of the Vietnamese national team and his wife will not celebrate Tet alone. They will welcome their parents from the Czech Republic to visit. This is not only Nguyen Filip's first Tet as a Vietnamese citizen but also the first Tet in his homeland for his extended family who have long settled in Europe.
Nguyen Filip and his wife take Tet photos
“My mother came to Vietnam from the Czech Republic. We haven’t seen her for more than half a year. When I learned that she was planning to come to Vietnam and stay here for a month, I was very happy. My father and father-in-law also celebrated Tet with the family. It was really meaningful, reminding me of when I was a child. At that time, my small family also celebrated the traditional Vietnamese New Year in the Czech Republic ,” Nguyen Filip shared.
In the memory of the goalkeeper born in 1992, like many other children, the thing that excited him the most was red envelopes.
"Every time I visit my grandparents, I receive lucky money. Lucky money envelopes are like Christmas presents in Europe," said the goalkeeper of the Vietnamese national team.
"I know that this is a very important custom and brings joy to children during Tet. Every year, we gather together and have a Vietnamese-flavored dinner. Even though in the Czech Republic, people do not celebrate Lunar New Year, those memories still bring me warmth until now."
Nguyen Filip confided about his first Tet holiday in his father's homeland: " This is the first time my family and I celebrate Tet in Vietnam. Just the joyful atmosphere of preparing, shopping, wrapping banh chung, and celebrating Tet together made me feel excited and thrilled."
Xuan Phuong
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