Former Vietnamese national team player Ho Van Loi has passed away.

Former player Ho Van Loi, who once played for the Vietnamese national team and was the top scorer in the V.League, passed away at the age of 56 after a long battle with a serious illness.

Former football star Ho Van Loi.

Early on November 12th, the family of former football star Ho Van Loi announced sad news. The former Vietnamese national team player passed away after a long battle with a serious illness, at the age of 56. Many teammates and former students expressed their sorrow for the "extraordinary" figure of Vietnamese football.

During his playing career, Ho Van Loi was nicknamed "Old Man Tieu". He was considered an icon of the Saigon Port club during the golden age of Southern Vietnamese football. Despite being only 1.6 meters tall and facing a significant physical disadvantage, Ho Van Loi still showcased his talent with a fast-paced, skillful playing style and sharp 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 top scorer in the V.League during the 2001-2002 season, the second year the league became professional. It wasn't until 2017 that Vietnamese football had another domestic player win the V.League top scorer award (Nguyen Anh Duc of Binh Duong).

Throughout his career, former football star Ho Van Loi made significant contributions to national championship titles in 1993-1994, 1997, 2001-2002, and won the National Cup twice in 1992 and 2000.

However, Ho Van Loi did not have many opportunities to showcase his abilities in the national team's colors. The renowned striker of Saigon Port was frequently called up under foreign coaches such as Alfred Riedl, Henrique Calisto, and Collin Murphy, but rarely got to play.

After retiring from playing, Mr. Ho Van Loi worked for the PVF Youth Training Center and trained many talented young players. Since 2024, Mr. Ho Van Loi's health has been significantly affected by illness, but the former Vietnamese national team player has still maintained diligent training and participated in friendly matches.

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