The player picked up the ball on the sidelines with a shoulder bump, followed by an elbow strike, as if he was competing with his opponent. The usually polite and courteous coach this time made a "tricky" block, then took off his vest, ready to "fight" for the ball. The two of them, one was a national team player, the other was a former coach of U23 Vietnam.
That is a brief description of the key event in the key match of round 5 of V.League 2023/24 on the evening of December 9 at Thien Truong Stadium (Nam Dinh). The central characters in that event were Tran Van Kien (Nam Dinh) and Coach Gong Oh-kyun (Hanoi Police Club).
Van Kien (far left) and coach Gong Oh-kyun clashed outside the field.
The moment Mr. Gong took off his vest and Van Kien continued to stand still, challenging the Korean coach, was the peak of the chaotic moment on the sidelines. It was an image reminiscent of the weigh-in sessions of boxing or MMA, where two fighters used all kinds of provocative tricks and were about to attack each other if there were no hands to stop them.
Yet that MMA atmosphere takes place in football.
It is difficult to say who is right and who is wrong in that situation that happened so quickly. Tran Van Kien probably thought that Coach Gong wanted to slow down the pace of the match when his team was leading Nam Dinh 1-0. Coach Gong reacted because Van Kien touched his body. Both showed a challenging and fierce attitude.
Van Kien met with coach Gong Oh-kyun to reconcile and admitted his mistake after the match. The Korean coach confirmed this. However, the story has not cooled down as fans' interest is still there. Tran Van Kien's next move on social media seemed to "fuel" the gossip. A few hours after the collision, the right-back posted a photo on his personal page with two words of unclear meaning.
Kien did not say it directly, but many people believe that Kien was talking about the recent situation. Coach Gong said "without thinking", Van Kien also said "learned from experience". But with this status, it seems that he does not want to learn from experience right away.
Social media post by Tran Van Kien.
Kien's status line carries a challenging implication and is further encouraged by hundreds of comments right below. Notably, many national players and V.League teammates also joined Van Kien, including coach Gong's own students at the Hanoi Police Club.
What did Kien want to say through that status? No one knows exactly. But he seemed dissatisfied and was directing criticism at his opponent. Could it be that this player did not choose to "ignore" like Coach Gong but wanted to continue: After the collision on the field, there was a war of words on social media?
Van Kien's choice, if true, seems inappropriate based on many factors. Kien is a national player, Mr. Gong is a former coach of the Vietnam U23 team. They have not worked directly together but still have connections.
Coach Gong Oh-kyun and Tran Van Kien clashed on the field.
Kien is a veteran of Hanoi FC, a team famous for its methodical media management and image-keeping. Kien himself is 27 years old, with extensive experience at all levels of football. He should have had a more restrained reaction to his opponent, a former national team coach.
No one blames Kien for his determination, but there is a line between enthusiasm and respect for the opponent. The status Kien just shared seems to have crossed that line.
This season's V.League is becoming more attractive with a new breeze named Gong Oh-kyun, with Van Kien's Nam Dinh Club, with the revival of Quang Hai, Hanoi Club and many other positive things have come. In a picture with many bright colors returning, what insiders need to do is to draw constructive strokes.
Kien and Coach Gong will likely receive a penalty. But the ugly image that has existed at Thien Truong will not disappear because of that.
Thanh Ha
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