Vietnamese athletes celebrate Tet, home is the place to return

SPECIAL TET OF X UAN S ON

For Vietnamese football players, this year's Lunar New Year is a particularly precious time off. After winning the 2024 AFF Cup, the players have not been able to "relax" yet but are still playing in domestic tournaments. The fact that Vietnamese football is synchronized with the international competition schedule will mean that the teams will not have much time to rest when the V-League returns on February 5 (the 8th day of Tet). Therefore, the players all want to take advantage of the short Tet holidays to reunite with their families.

VĐV Việt Nam đón tết, nhà là nơi để về- Ảnh 1. — Xuan Son and his wife and the 2024 AFF Cup gold medal

Striker Tien Linh shared that he will return to his hometown Hai Duong with his parents to celebrate Tet with his relatives. "The AFF Cup 2024 championship is the result of great efforts from the whole team. We have tried our best to win for our fans. Thanks to that, this year's Tet will be even happier and more meaningful. The coaching staff of the Vietnam team and Binh Duong Club have given us very careful instructions, we will enjoy the spring but not forget our duties. We will take advantage of this break to rest and prepare for the upcoming difficult journeys," Linh said.

It has been 5 years since Nguyen Xuan Son celebrated Tet in Vietnam, but this year, he will have a very special Tet because this is the first time he and his family celebrate Tet in Vietnam as a Vietnamese. Son will temporarily leave the hospital and return to Nam Dinh with his wife and children to celebrate Tet. Along with practicing rehabilitation according to the doctors' plan, the striker born in 1997, his wife Marcele and their children are eager to celebrate Tet according to Vietnamese customs. The top scorer of the 2024 AFF Cup is eagerly waiting for the feeling of welcoming the New Year as well as wishing friends and colleagues a happy new year with his family. This will help Xuan Son become stronger and more optimistic to soon return to the field.

VĐV Việt Nam đón tết, nhà là nơi để về- Ảnh 2. — Xuan Son and his wife and children will celebrate Tet in Nam Dinh.

Center-back Thanh Chung (who has just entered the top 5 nominees for the 2024 Vietnam Golden Ball award) will also bring his wife and children to Tuyen Quang to celebrate Tet. The couple are from the same hometown, so it is quite convenient for them to travel. As for the captain of The Cong Viettel Club, center-back Bui Tien Dung, it will be a bit more difficult to divide his time to wish Tet between his paternal home in Duc Tho District (Ha Tinh) and his maternal home in Bac Ninh. "Fortunately, the highway has been completed, so it has shortened the time a lot. My family and I are used to it, so we consider the joy of wishing Tet to two families as an opportunity for the whole family to go on a spring trip at the beginning of the year. There is nothing warmer and happier than moments of gathering with family," Tien Dung shared. Near Tet, Bui Tien Dung posted on his personal page a picture of him and his daughter shopping for Tet, in the father's hand is a pretty kumquat tree, and in the daughter's hand is a typical Tet gift.

VĐV Việt Nam đón tết, nhà là nơi để về- Ảnh 3.

VĐV Việt Nam đón tết, nhà là nơi để về- Ảnh 4. — Tien Dung and daughter go shopping for Tet

Also attracting a lot of attention on the online community is striker Hendrio of Nam Dinh Club with his "movement" of showing off that he went to buy peach and kumquat trees to display for Tet. He "speaks" Vietnamese fluently, making viewers extremely excited. Hendrio is in the process of naturalizing as a Vietnamese citizen and if successful, and maintains good form, Xuan Son's teammate can be called up to the Vietnamese national team.

I'M NOT ALONE

These days, the National Sports Training Centers in Hanoi, Can Tho, Da Nang, and Bac Ninh have also allowed athletes to return home early to celebrate Tet to avoid traffic jams. After a year of hard training and competition, athletes are eager to return home to celebrate Tet with their families, friends, and relatives for a few days before returning with the goal of "flying high and far" with Vietnamese sports.

But there are also athletes who cannot celebrate Tet at home because they are busy with national duties. Vietnam's No. 1 male badminton player Le Duc Phat will participate in the Thailand Masters 2025 international badminton tournament taking place from January 28 to February 3 (the 6th day of Tet). "Last year, I also celebrated Tet away from home when I competed in 2 consecutive tournaments in Azerbaijan and Iran to accumulate points to hunt for tickets to the Paris Olympics. At that time, Nguyen Hai Dang and I went together, we were competitors on the field but were close friends in real life, so it was not sad to have to celebrate Tet away from home. This year, my goal is to enter the top 50 in the world, in addition, I also dream of touching a medal at the SEA Games arena, so I want to have the best preparation," Le Duc Phat shared. Duc Phat was directly entered the main round of the men's singles event at the Thailand Masters international badminton tournament, so he will most likely compete on January 29 (the 1st day of Tet). The tennis player from Dong Nai wants to have a good start as a precious gift for himself and his fans.

The Lunar New Year also coincides with the start of the Indonesian Volleyball Championship (Proliga), so Vietnam's top volleyball star Tran Thi Thanh Thuy - currently playing for Gresik Petrokimia Pupuk Club - also has to celebrate Tet in the archipelago country. Having played in Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, and Türkiye, Thanh Thuy has celebrated Tet away from home many times. Her professionalism, independence, and ability to integrate well into different environments help Thanh Thuy not feel "lonely" when she cannot celebrate Tet with her family. Thuy's colleague Tran Thi Bich Thuy also celebrates Tet away from home while playing for GS Caltex Club in the Korean Championship. According to the competition schedule, Bich Thuy and her teammates will compete with Hyundai Hillstate Club on the afternoon of the first day of Tet. This is a memorable memory in the career of Bich Thuy, a promising talent of the Vietnam women's volleyball team.

Because the Asian Road Cycling Championship took place from February 5 (the 8th day of the Lunar New Year), the Vietnamese cycling team with 20 members had to "camp" to practice during the Lunar New Year. Of which, 8 young athletes led by coach Mai Cong Hieu practiced in Da Nang, while famous athletes such as Nguyen Thi That and Pham Le Xuan Loc trained in Binh Thuan. "The important tournament is approaching, so the athletes are encouraged to stay at the training center during the Lunar New Year. The coaching staff is very happy that all the athletes expressed their determination, sacrificing their own joy during the Lunar New Year to be in the best shape, contributing to the Vietnamese cycling team in the Asian tournament. After completing the mission and returning, we will celebrate the Lunar New Year to make up for it," coach Mai Cong Hieu shared. These days and even during the Lunar New Year, the young Vietnamese cyclists are still diligently climbing the "iron horse" to conquer Hai Van Pass, which is a familiar training route. Meanwhile, on the sunny and windy coastal road in Binh Thuan, female cyclist Nguyen Thi That and other athletes also practiced hard to accumulate a strong physical foundation, the best competition condition, ready for the goal of defending the Asian gold medal.

What will Mr. Kim do ?

Coach Kim Sang-sik only took a few days off in Korea and has returned to Vietnam to work. During the Lunar New Year holidays, when the national football tournament is temporarily suspended, he will invite his friends to his private home (a villa in the Vietnam Youth Football Center, right next to the headquarters of the Vietnam Football Federation) or visit his Vietnamese friends to wish them a happy new year. Mr. Kim once confided that Vietnamese and Korean cultures are quite similar, so he found things in common in the rhythm of life. He also wished the Vietnamese people a peaceful new year, and Vietnamese football a successful and lucky year.

Chi Dat