Former Vietnamese player Ho Van Loi passed away

Former football star Ho Van Loi.

Early morning of November 12, the family of former football star Ho Van Loi announced the sad news. The former Vietnamese national team player breathed his last breath after a long battle with a serious illness, at the age of 56. Many teammates and students expressed their condolences to the "freak" of Vietnamese football.

When he was still playing, Mr. Ho Van Loi was nicknamed "Old Laughter". He was considered the symbol of Saigon Port Club in the golden years of Southern football. Only 1.6 m tall and with a big disadvantage in physique, Ho Van Loi still showed his talent with a playing style rich in speed, technique as well as sharpness in finishing.

Mr. Ho Van Loi is one of the few domestic strikers to win the V.League top scorer title. With 9 goals, he was the player with the most goals in the V.League in the 2001-2002 season, the second year the league became professional. It was not until 2017 that Vietnamese football had the next domestic player win the V.League top scorer title (Nguyen Anh Duc of Binh Duong ).

Throughout his career, former player Ho Van Loi contributed greatly to the national championship titles in 1993-1994, 1997, 2001-2002 and won the National Cup twice in 1992 and 2000.

However, Mr. Ho Van Loi did not have many opportunities to show his ability in the national team. The famous striker of Saigon Port was often called up under foreign coaches such as Alfred Riedl, Henrique Calisto or Collin Murphy but rarely played.

After retiring, Mr. Ho Van Loi spent time working for the PVF Youth Training Center and training many talented young players. Since 2024, Mr. Ho Van Loi's health has been significantly affected by illness, but the former Vietnamese player still maintains diligent training and plays friendly matches.

Source: https://znews.vn/cuu-tuyen-thu-viet-nam-ho-van-loi-qua-doi-post1602108.html