Nam Dinh advances with coach Vu Hong Viet

Nam Dinh is famous for its passion for football, producing many generations of talented players and winning the national championship in 1985. The stands at the "fire pan" Thien Truong are always packed with spectators when the home team competes and fans are ready to "burn" with all their might to cheer on the players on the field.

However, when Vietnamese football became professional, the national championship was officially named V-League with the permission for foreign players and naturalized players to participate in the competition, Nam Dinh football could not return to the top. There was even a long time when they had to play in the National First and Second Divisions. The best achievement of the team at Thien Truong Stadium in domestic tournaments was winning the V-League runner-up position twice (in 2000 and 2004), and winning the National Cup once in 2007.

At the end of August 2022, when Nam Dinh Club was in a slump and at risk of relegation, the board of directors purged the squad and recruited coach Vu Hong Viet to replace veteran strategist Nguyen Van Sy. Under the leadership of the young coach, the Nam Dinh team applied a modern attacking style of play, improved their performance and successfully stayed in the league with a 12th place overall in the 2022 V-League.

Nam Định thăng tiến với HLV Vũ Hồng Việt- Ảnh 1. — Coach Vu Hong Viet (right cover) is flying high with Nam Dinh Green Steel Club. (Photo: NAM DINH CLUB)

Once considered a "poor" team and playing with the goal of staying in the league for many years, but before the V-League 2023, Nam Dinh shocked everyone when they were willing to spend 100 billion VND to recruit good players, strengthen their squad, aiming to win the tournament. Despite a smooth start, coach Vu Hong Viet's team suddenly ran out of steam in the final stages and only ranked 5th overall in that season. The results were not as expected, making fans angry, turning their backs on the coach and players of Nam Dinh Club.

However, confidence and prosperity quickly returned to Nam Dinh Club in the 2023-2024 season. With an incredibly long unbeaten streak at the beginning of the season, including convincing victories against strong opponents such as Hanoi, The Cong Viettel , Hai Phong..., Coach Vu Hong Viet's team continuously sat at the top of the V-League rankings, 5 points ahead of the chasing group after 12 rounds.

When he was still playing, Vu Hong Viet was a midfielder with a technical style of play and modern tactical vision. He played for many teams such as: Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Hanoi ACB and Hoa Phat Hanoi.

At its peak, the former player born in 1979 from Hanoi joined Thai stars Kiatisuk, Dusit, Chukiat and Vietnamese colleagues Vo Van Hanh, Nguyen Manh Dung, Trinh Duy Quang, Luong Trung Tuan, Nguyen Van Dan, Nguyen Huu Dang, Van Si Hung, Ngo Quang Truong... to help the "mountain town" team win the V-League for two consecutive seasons (2003 and 2024).

In 2019, Vu Hong Viet was appointed as head coach of Quang Nam Club and successfully helped the Quang Nam team stay in the V-League. After leaving Quang Nam in early 2020, the 44-year-old former player regularly participated in the coaching staff of the U22, U23 and Vietnam national teams as an assistant to coach Park Hang-seo.

"Playing football requires pressure to always be determined to move forward. I am very happy and grateful that Thien Truong Stadium is packed with spectators. Nam Dinh Club is always loyal to the attacking style of play, pressing high to achieve the goal of achieving the best ranking this season" - Coach Vu Hong Viet shared.