In August 2022, Nam Dinh Club was at risk of relegation, Coach Vu Hong Viet was invited to play the role of "rescuer" to replace veteran coach Nguyen Van Sy. Under a lot of pressure, the coach born in 1979 did a good job in helping the team from Thanh Nam "reach safety".

Coach Vu Hong Viet recalled: “When I received the invitation from the Nam Dinh Club leadership, I was quite surprised and felt a bit of pressure, because the team's performance at that time was not good. However, being able to lead a team playing in the V-League arena was my long-time dream, so I did not hesitate to seize the opportunity. I even accepted to say goodbye to the role of assistant to Coach Park Hang-seo and dropped out of the Pro Coaching course of the Asian Football Confederation to focus on work. The reason I had such confidence was because Nam Dinh was a strong team, the players were quite good and the fans here were wonderful. Luckily, I succeeded in helping the team stay in the league.”

Coach Vu Hong Viet. Photo: LAM THOA

In the 2023 season, Nam Dinh Club has made a strong investment by buying many quality players and changing its name to Nam Dinh Steel Club. In the early stages of V-League 2023, the Nam Dinh team has made great strides, even rising to the top of the rankings at times. However, after the 9th round with 3 consecutive matches without knowing a win, coach Vu Hong Viet and his team temporarily fell to 5th place.

Holding a team with a lot of investment and many outstanding players in the squad, many people are worried that coach Vu Hong Viet cannot handle the task. However, coach Vu expressed very frankly: “This year, Nam Dinh Green Steel has invested a lot, so of course the team's leaders also have high expectations for results. This can be considered a lot of pressure for me. However, I like it, because football without pressure is very boring. Nam Dinh Green Steel's first goal is to enter the top 8 after phase 1, then calculate each match to achieve the best results."

In a conversation with the writer, although he did not say it, coach Vu Hong Viet also hinted at the race for the top spot of the team from Thanh Nam. The coach born in 1979 said: “When taking on the role of head coach, any coach wants his team to touch the championship trophy once. I am the same and am trying hard for that. However, it is difficult to predict anything in football, because in addition to strength, there is also the element of luck. We just know to try every day and focus on each match.”

DO TUAN