What are the chances for Vietnamese-American midfielder Viktor Le at SEA Games 33?

Who is Viktor Lê?

The 2024-2025 V-League season has seen many surprises, most notably the phenomenon of Ha Tinh FC. The team, which had a crisis season and had to play a play-off match to avoid relegation, has almost completely transformed. Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong's team remains undefeated after 11 matches, sitting in 5th place with 17 points. Remarkably, Ha Tinh FC has virtually no star players; their squad is only of average quality. Their success stems from recruiting several suitable players, and existing players have also shown improvement. One of them is midfielder Viktor Le.

This player, born on November 10, 2003, in Russia, has a Vietnamese father and a Russian mother. He is 1.78 meters tall and previously played for Binh Dinh FC. He helped CSKA Moscow's youth team win the Russian U-19 Championship and caught the attention of AC Milan scouts. However, he rejected the offer from one of Europe's most prestigious clubs and returned to Vietnam to play football. In January 2025, he officially obtained Vietnamese citizenship, opening up opportunities to wear the red and yellow jersey of the Vietnamese national team at various levels.

Viktor Lê (left) dreams of contributing more to Vietnamese football.

Last season, when he first joined Ha Tinh FC, the Russian-born player didn't perform particularly well, playing in 14 matches, including 6 starts. But over time, he gradually adapted to his new teammates and the new playing style, and was given more opportunities. This season, Viktor Le has played 345 minutes, about 58% of the playing time he had last season, and he still has 15 rounds left to improve his record.

In the 4-1-4-1 formation that coach Nguyen Thanh Cong is currently using, Viktor Le is often positioned as a box-to-box midfielder alongside Luong Xuan Truong, with these two players positioned above defensive midfielder Dang Van Tram. This arrangement allows Viktor Le to showcase many of his strengths, such as his technique, creativity, intelligence, modern footballing mindset, and ability to penetrate the opponent's penalty area to take shots. This season, he scored his first V-League goal with a close-range header that helped Ha Tinh FC defeat HAGL in round 8.

Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong assessed Viktor Le as having great potential for development and showing significant progress since joining Ha Tinh Club. He hopes his student can catch the attention of Coach Kim Sang-sik and potentially be included in the Vietnam U.22 team and participate in the SEA Games 33 in Thailand.

If Viktor Lê gets that opportunity, he will face fierce competition from many other talented central midfielders, such as Nguyễn Thái Sơn (Thanh Hóa FC), Trần Nam Hải, Đinh Xuân Tiến (SLNA), Nguyễn Văn Trường (Hanoi FC), Nguyễn Đức Phú (PVF-CAND FC), and Nguyễn Công Phương (The Cong Viettel FC). These are all players who have experience playing for Vietnamese youth national teams and have established connections with the group of players eligible for the upcoming SEA Games 33. Therefore, to be called up and, further, to secure a starting position in the Vietnam U22 team, Viktor Lê needs to work much harder.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/co-hoi-nao-cho-tien-ve-viet-kieu-viktor-le-o-sea-games-33-185250203205534084.htm