Van Quyet retires from Vietnam national team: Farewell to a football talent

Right when Vietnamese fans had high hopes, striker Nguyen Van Quyet suddenly said goodbye to the Vietnamese national team after a 1-1 friendly draw with India on the evening of October 12.

Van Quyet in his last match for the Vietnamese national team against India - Photo: HOANG TUNG

FIFA Days in October was the first time Van Quyet wore the Vietnamese national team jersey under coach Kim Sang Sik. Everyone expected that the 33-year-old striker's experience and expertise would help the Vietnamese team during this difficult period. However, Van Quyet said goodbye to the Vietnamese team after the friendly match with India, which ended in a 1-1 draw at Thien Truong Stadium (Nam Dinh) on the evening of October 12. A decision that surprised many people. "I still have the desire to contribute to the national team. But I feel that my current physical condition cannot meet the team's requirements, so I think this is the time for me to stop. I wish the team success and that we will achieve the goals we set," Van Quyet said on his farewell day.

The day of farewell was not complete

Coach Kim Sang Sik did not use Van Quyet from the beginning in the match against India. He only brought him on the field in the 73rd minute to replace central midfielder Le Pham Thanh Long, when the score was 1-1. The presence of the "number 10 player" on the field immediately brought new vitality to the attack of the Vietnamese team. He had two favorable passes for Quang Hai to finish, one was excellently blocked by goalkeeper Sandhu in the 79th minute and the other was cleared by central defender Anwar Ali on the goal line in the 82nd minute. If either of those two opportunities had been scored, the Vietnamese team would have had a victory against India, and Van Quyet would have had a more complete farewell. But that seems to be the fate of Van Quyet, a player recognized by the entire V-League for his class but always encountered difficulties in his journey to the national team. He was also not appreciated by the generations of coaches in the Vietnamese team, from the time of Coach Park Hang Seo, Philippe Troussier to Kim Sang Sik. Like coach Kim Sang Sik leading the Vietnam team from May 2024. But until now, he called Van Quyet for the first time.

The moment Van Quyet entered the field to replace Thanh Long - Photo: VFF

Monument of many regrets

No one has won as many collective and individual titles as Van Quyet at the club level. He was an important part in helping Hanoi FC win 5/6 V-League championships. Van Quyet also won the title of "Best Player of V-League" 3 times in 2018, 2020 and 2022. He also won the "Vietnam Golden Ball" twice in 2020 and 2022. But throughout the peak of his career, Van Quyet was never considered the number 1 striker of the Vietnamese team. He and the Vietnamese team won the AFF Cup 2018, but was not used by coach Park Hang Seo for a single minute in the two semi-finals and two finals. And after that, the name Van Quyet gradually "disappeared". Because he did not play much and contribute to the Vietnamese team, when Van Quyet won the title of "Vietnam Golden Ball" in 2022, it created a wave of controversy among fans. People thought that Tien Linh was more deserving at that time. But it seems that fans have never had a flat view of Van Quyet, a player who has always been between the line of love and hate for nearly ten years. He was not called to the Vietnam national team or was called but was rarely used, people also made fun of him. He was greedy for the ball, aggressively tackled opponents or overreacted to the referee, leading to a disciplinary ban from playing several matches in the V-League, people cursed him even more. Despite that, Van Quyet still played football persistently, dedicating himself to his passion and to the Hanoi Club. And when he was called to the Vietnam national team, he tried his best again. Van Quyet said goodbye to the Vietnam national team in his 60th match, scoring 16 goals. The number is a bit modest compared to former striker Le Cong Vinh (83 matches, 51 goals) or his junior Nguyen Tien Linh (46 matches, 21 goals). But Van Quyet is certainly an outstanding talent of Vietnamese football, a controversial talent when he was extremely successful at Hanoi Club but did not have the right time in the Vietnam national team.

Van Quyet - Vietnam's number 1 domestic striker but struggling in the national team - Photo: HOANG TUNG

116 goals and the milestone about to be broken

Saying goodbye to the Vietnamese national team, Van Quyet still has another milestone to conquer. That is to surpass the 116 goals that he has equaled with Le Cong Vinh in the list of domestic players who have scored the most goals in V-League history. That will be achieved by Van Quyet sooner or later, when V-League 2024-2025 returns.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/van-quyet-gia-tu-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-chia-tay-mot-tai-nang-bong-da-20241012214521219.htm#content-3