Hoang Anh Gia Lai member leaves, leaving regret for the whole team

Assistant coach Duong Minh Ninh and foreign striker Paollo Oliveira are both members who have made very important contributions to Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club in this year's season and previous seasons.

Paollo Oliveira (phải) là chân sút hàng đầu của Hoàng Anh Gia Lai ở V-League 2023 (Ảnh: HAGL FC).

Paollo Oliveira (right) is Hoang Anh Gia Lai's top striker in V-League 2023. (Source: HAGL FC)

Assistant coach Duong Minh Ninh, striker Paollo and doctor Dao Trong Tri of HAGL Club passed away in a traffic accident, while on the way back to the team's training center in Pleiku city (Gia Lai province) after the match against SLNA in the final round of the relegation race of V-League 2023.

The accident occurred at around 2:00 p.m. on August 12 in Chu Puh District, about 70 km from Pleiku City. The car carrying the HAGL Club members was sandwiched between two trucks and deformed, killing three people on the spot and injuring one person who was taken to the emergency room.

It is known that Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club let the team members leave camp after the match with SLNA on the afternoon of August 11. Assistant Duong Minh Ninh, striker Paollo and doctor Dao Trong Tri returned to the training center so the team sent a car to pick them up, then unfortunately had an accident on the way.

News of the accident of the Hoang Anh Gia Lai team members was immediately shared by the Vietnamese football community, with colleagues mourning the unfortunate characters.

Striker Paollo Oliveira (Brazilian) joined Hoang Anh Gia Lai from the beginning of the 2023 season and immediately proved his importance to the mountain town team.

Last season, Paollo played 17 out of 18 matches for Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club, scoring 6 goals, and was the top scorer of the mountain town team in V-League 2023.

Paollo Oliveira's scoring record helps the team of boss Doan Nguyen Duc somewhat forget about famous strikers Nguyen Cong Phuong and Nguyen Van Toan, after these players left Hoang Anh Gia Lai after the 2022 season.

Last season, Paollo Oliveira played for HL Ha Tinh Club. At that time, the Brazilian striker scored a total of 8 goals after 23 appearances, contributing greatly to helping HL Ha Tinh successfully stay in the league.

As for assistant coach Duong Minh Ninh, this is a character who has been associated with Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club for a long time, from the time he was a player, until he became a coach.

Mr. Duong Minh Ninh was born in 1975 and has been with Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club for 20 years. Mr. Minh Ninh used to be a striker for Gia Lai team when this team was still playing in the lower league.

Trợ lý HLV Dương Minh Ninh (phải) có hơn 20 năm gắn bó với Hoàng Anh Gia Lai. (Nguồn: HAGL FC)

Assistant coach Duong Minh Ninh (right) has been with Hoang Anh Gia Lai for more than 20 years. (Source: HAGL FC)

At the time striker Kiatisuk came to Hoang Anh Gia Lai to play for this team in 2002, Mr. Duong Minh Ninh once played with the famous Thai striker.

After Hoang Anh Gia Lai's extremely successful 2003 season (V-League champion), Mr. Duong Minh Ninh decided to "hang up his boots" and return to work in logistics for the mountain town team.

In 2007, when Hoang Anh Gia Lai launched the Hoang Anh Gia Lai JMG youth football academy, Mr. Duong Minh Ninh played the role of assistant to French coach Graechen Guillaume.

Coach Duong Minh Ninh also spent time on the national team as an assistant to coach Nguyen Huu Thang, during the period when Mr. Thang was in charge of the Vietnam national team and the Vietnam U23 team from 2016 to 2017.

In 2018, Mr. Duong Minh Ninh was at one point the head coach of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club. However, this period did not last long, Mr. Ninh is more suitable for the role of assistant to foreign coaches at the mountain town football team.

When coach Kiatisuk returned to Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club in 2020, Mr. Duong Minh Ninh showed great compatibility with his colleague. Mr. Ninh has been an assistant to "Thai Zico" at Hoang Anh Gia Lai until now.

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