From the 'steel' center back of the golden generation of Saigon Port...
When I entered the two football fields in San Diego to watch a football tournament organized quite attractively by the Vietnamese community in Southern California (USA), I suddenly heard the "hello" of a very familiar voice that I had heard more than 30 years ago every time I watched the Saigon Port football team play. Startled, I immediately caught the unmistakable eyes of a player who was nicknamed "Old Khai" or "Lion Khai" in the talented generation that added to the team with the typical pure white shirt of Ho Chi Minh City in the mid-80s of the last century.
Yes, that is Phan Huy Khai, the "steel" center back born in 1966 of the Saigon Port team. Still surprised because I was told by former goalkeeper Nguyen Hong Pham: "Khai is living and working in Houston", the once-famous number 8 immediately said: "I just flew to Cali yesterday with 10 other players over 50 years old to strengthen the Thanh Long Quan team to participate in the tournament, partly because of the quality and appeal of the tournament which is organized quite systematically, all the players really want to participate. The other part is also itchy, wanting to find the inspiration to compete for the tournament, to play football at the top level like before".
Phan Huy Khai and the author at the tournament in San Diego
PHOTO: CUONG PHAM
The conversation between us was not long because Khai stood talking with his eyes glued to the field. As a substitute player starting from the bench, he was both watching every ball and eager to play so that his feet could dance and share with his teammates. Watching Khai play football, memories of nearly 40 years ago flooded back to me. At that time, Khai was part of the second batch of talented professionals along with Nguyen Hong Pham, Dang Tran Phuc, Luong Vinh Le, Nguyen Thanh Tung, Nguyen Kinh Kha, Huynh Trung Kien, Vo Thanh Hung... trained by coaches Tran Minh Duc and Duong Nghiep Khoi, who graduated in 1986 and were added to the top teams in Ho Chi Minh City.
Huy Khai joins Houston youth team coaching
PHOTO: NVCC
Coming to Saigon Port, Phan Huy Khai immediately matured, quickly integrated with teammates of the first generation such as Dang Tran Chinh, Ha Vuong Ngau Nai, Vo Hoang Tan, Pham Van Tam, and soon made effective contributions under the guidance of the late coach Pham Huynh Tam Lang. At that time, Khai was not a player with the ideal stature of a central defender, but thanks to his intelligent playing style, quick judgment of situations, sharp positioning, and command of the defense like a leader, he was gradually trusted to replace senior pillars such as Le Dinh Thang, Nguyen Phuc, and together with Le The Cuong, Ho Van Tam became effective shields to maintain beautiful football, demonstrating the "pure" quality of Saigon Port.
Huy Khai plays football with all his passion.
PHOTO: CUONG PHAM
At that time, his teammates considered him to have a haggard face, looking very old for his age. But that was what exuded the aura of a cold, dignified defender who always made opponents wary when facing him. I still remember when interviewing coach Tam Lang about the talented players who contributed to the Port team, he immediately talked about Phan Huy Khai, a player who was once considered his successor: "When assigning Khai to play as a sweeper, I had a lot of confidence in him because he always showed concentration in the game, quick observation, reasonable ball interception and was very decisive. He is a model of a brave center back in modern football."
Some other teammates commented: "In real life, Khai is always thoughtful, quiet, sometimes seems clumsy, but is very straightforward and enthusiastic, always protects his teammates with all his heart. Especially, Khai's safe and solid playing style is a great support, creating motivation for the front line". One of the memorable matches that showed this characteristic of Khai was the match where Saigon Port won 2-1 against Hai Phong Police in the national championship in October 1994.
Huy Khai (right) in Thanh Long Quan's jersey competes for the ball with Quan Huy in KP FC's jersey. Two players who were once famous in the Port's jersey face each other in the US.
PHOTO: TK
Like many other retired players, when he moved to the US, Khai chose to both work and coach the Houston VFC youth team with many players of Vietnamese origin. He confided: "Football is in my blood, so no matter where I am or what I do, I still want to do something to pass on knowledge to the younger generation." Occasionally, he also returned to the country and participated in a match to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the death of the teacher he respected: Coach Tam Lang.
...To the talented, solid midfielder
On the other side of the front line, facing the team that Phan Huy Khai plays for, I saw his slow running but every time he passed the ball, the audience would exclaim in delight. Because from his feet, the ball was transferred to the right address, flying to his teammates with precision to the centimeter. Many short, fast wall passes with his skill of turning and holding the ball were still very delicate, making everyone always look at him in a mesmerizing way. He is the soul of the current KP FC team and the former talented midfielder of Saigon Port, Tran Quan Huy.
Quan Huy (seated, 3rd row from right) in the match commemorating the death anniversary of coach Tam Lang.
PHOTO: NVCC
The impression that this player from Ben Tre left in the matches in the US was no different from what he had shown enthusiastically nearly 30 years ago. That was a diligent and hardworking Quan Huy like a worker bee, a Quan Huy who played quite versatilely, from the role of a recovery specialist, always starting at the bottom of the V in the 5-midfield formation, with the skill of launching attacks from afar very well, to the position of left back and left midfielder where he was often arranged with Vo Hoang Buu, Ho Van Loi. With a hunched figure but very dangerous because of this very flexible ankle, he was called up to the team for the 18th SEA Games in Chiang Mai (Thailand in 1995) and was named in the Tiger Cup 1996.
Quan Huy wore the number 15 when he played. When he came to America, he changed it to 51.
PHOTO: TK
Seeing me again, Quan Huy was very happy because he still remembered that in addition to the articles mentioning him when he played for Saigon Port in the 90s and Southern Steel - Saigon Port (from 2002 to 2004), he did not forget to recall the memory of me coming to his house on Cach Mang Thang 8 Street in 2006 - 2007 after the shock his family experienced because of the bad internal stories at that time. This caused him to spend a long time wandering to other football teams that he certainly did not want in his heart. Because Quan Huy once said that he loved Saigon Port very much because the team gave him life, titles, joy, reputation and trust from the audience. But after contributing to bringing the team back to the top after only 1 year of relegation in 2004, Quan Huy left. He chose lower-level teams to "hide" such as Da My Nghe, Quang Ngai , Tay Ninh and after retiring, he participated in community football.
Quan Huy still shows his midfield control skills and skillful free kick ability.
PHOTO: TK
"I left the Southern Steel - Saigon Port team after completing the task of bringing the team back to the top. Partly because of my age, but also because of the changes in the mechanism that made the Port's name become secondary, causing everyone's spirit to waver. Then other bad things happened, causing me to have a period when I thought of giving up, even completely breaking up with football". In fact, after the ups and downs of the years, there was a time when Quan Huy also did another unrelated job, but he still had to return to the field, doing a part-time job of coaching community football classes as well as grassroots football. Although it was a part-time job, it was the main source of income to support himself and his family.
Quan Huy and the author at the tournament in San Diego
PHOTO: THANH BINH
For Quan Huy, even though the Saigon Port team has experienced ups and downs, above all, he still keeps the beautiful memories of a team that has always been in people's hearts, created a brand of historical stature, and is proud to be part of a team with identity, always rich in achievements, and is still a name that "burns" forever with the pure white color in the hearts of fans. In the tournament commemorating the death of Coach Tam Lang a few years ago, he also actively worked with all members of the Saigon Port family to revive a glorious time through performances that once created an explosion of fans in the stands. Now, although living with his family in the US, every time he plays football or leads the children, Quan Huy still conveys the beauty, splendor and brings back the once glorious values of the Saigon Port team.
Xuan Danh still shows his form and sharpness on the field.
Photo: CUONG PHAM
The third former player of the Port team is Nguyen Xuan Danh, born in 1974, who always showed his vitality when he was put on the field in the positions of right back and winger in the early 90s. I still remember many matches where Xuan Danh was arranged by coach Tam Lang to replace Chi Bao or Bui Xuan Thuy in the second half. Every time he appeared, he always showed a strong desire to play football. Danh currently lives in Portland, Oregon and is still playing football energetically when his Chicago FC team won the tournament for players over 50 years old of Vietnamese teams in the US, surpassing the achievement of only reaching the semi-finals of Quan Huy and Huy Khai.
Xuan Danh's Chicago FC team (3rd from left) won the over 50 tournament.
Photo: CUONG PHAM
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/gap-lai-nhung-tru-cot-mot-thoi-lay-lung-cua-cang-sai-gon-tren-dat-my-18525052612470136.htm
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