Gia Bao: 'Xuan Son is a classy player'

Gia Bao highly appreciates Xuan Son's level. Photo: VFF .

“Xuan Son is a classy player. He has proven that in the V.League and the ASEAN Cup. He has just returned, his current form may not be the best, but he is a good player that we should look at and learn from,” Khong Minh Gia Bao said during the first training session of the Vietnamese team in Laos.

Besides Xuan Son, the central defender currently playing for the HCM City Police also considers his senior Tran Dinh Trong as one of the examples to follow. The reason is because Dinh Trong does not have an outstanding physique but is known as a "specialist in hunting Westerners", and physique is also one of Gia Bao's own limitations.

Khong Minh Gia Bao grew up from the CAND training center. He mainly played for First Division teams, and only in the 2024/25 season did he have the opportunity to show himself in the V.League when wearing the Quang Nam shirt. Talking about his time playing for the Quang Nam team, the central defender born in 2000 said: “I am very grateful to Coach Van Sy Son. When I moved to Quang Nam, he was the one who gave me the opportunity to play as a starter. That was the springboard that helped me have the opportunity to join the national team today. My goal is to have the opportunity to show myself as much as possible.”

Gia Bao is one of the two new recruits of the Vietnamese team in this gathering. He was surprised when coach Kim Sang-sik gave him the opportunity and will cherish this opportunity: “I was very surprised when coach Kim Sang-sik called me up to the Vietnamese team. After the match against Da Nang , the Ho Chi Minh City Police moved to the airport, Tien Linh texted the Vietnam Football Federation to ask for information about me. At first, I thought it was a joke, but then I found out it was true, I was very happy, I felt very happy. The first person I told the news was my parents, they were also very happy and congratulated me.”

Gia Bao and the Vietnamese team had their first training session in Laos on the afternoon of November 16. The team will have 3 training sessions before entering the official match on November 19. Currently, the Vietnamese team has 9 points, ranking second in Group F, the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Source: https://znews.vn/gia-bao-xuan-son-la-cau-thu-dang-cap-post1603237.html