Nguyen Cao Cuong: Legendary number 10

SUPERIOR SKILLS

Footballer Nguyen Cao Cuong was born in 1954, and is the son of a family with a football tradition. He is the son of former football player Nguyen Van Thin (nicknamed Thin A), and the younger brother of one of the best wingers in Vietnamese football: former football player Nguyen The Anh (nicknamed Ba Den).

Having the football genes of his father and brother, and possessing outstanding talent, former famous player Cao Cuong was discovered and joined the The Cong training center very early. Under the strict training of the military environment, the dedicated guidance of his fathers and seniors, young player Cao Cuong made great progress. In 1970, when he was only 16 years old, he was specially recruited directly into The Cong Club to practice with the youth team. And only 3 years later, with diligence, progress, and a strong will to overcome all difficulties, 19-year-old player Nguyen Cao Cuong was present in the The Cong team 1 and began his journey to conquer the pinnacle of glory with many impressive achievements.

Former football star Nguyen Cao Cuong (left) has both skillful technique and strength and endurance.

PHOTO: DOCUMENT

When he reached his peak, former player Cao Cuong almost had all the elements of a good striker and had a way of playing that approached modern football, was smart, unpredictable and strong, sharp as a drill, and was tenacious. Standing at 1.72 m tall, he not only possessed a strong physique but also excelled in all four main qualities: fast, strong, durable and skillful. Technically, he was a rare striker who could play with both feet. At that time, in the tests of the masters' standards, he was always at the top of the golden generation of The Cong. The most outstanding of which was his skill of dribbling past people at high speed and then running and kicking hard and accurately. Thanks to this excellent skill, he scored many goals. Since officially taking on the position of striker at The Cong Club, he has scored 5-10 goals every season. In the 1982-1983 national championship alone, he won the title of top scorer with a rare record of 22 goals.

Nguyen Cao Cuong (left) is not afraid to face foreign teams.

PHOTO: DOCUMENT

He always controlled the situation and the speed.

PHOTO: PHAN SANG

EXTRAORDINARY WILL POWER

Former football star Cao Cuong is also a type of player who practices diligently and always practices with high intensity that few can match. During the physical preparation period, in strength training sessions, he endured a total of extremely heavy weight. During speed endurance training, he ran many short distances of 15 m, 20 m, 30 m to have a total length of up to 3,000 m in one training session, which is not the highest. The seriousness and professionalism in each training session combined with the spirit, will, and steely competitive spirit have helped young talent Nguyen Cao Cuong become one of the best strikers in the history of Vietnamese football.

His willpower in competition is a constant advantage. Once on the field, he is always aggressive, not accepting to play in a passive manner. The matches with him are always exciting, enthusiastic, forcing the opponent to follow. And thanks to his will to strive, his strong competitive spirit has helped The Cong's number 10 always reign at the top for a long time and leave a deep impression in the hearts of the audience. He reigned at the top for nearly 20 years. Perhaps this should be considered a record of Vietnamese football. Just like his brother The Anh, Cao Cuong's glorious football career of nearly a fifth of a century is associated with the peak achievements of The Cong team both domestically and when playing abroad. The image of captain Nguyen Cao Cuong playing with dedication, sophistication, and indomitability has left a very special impression in the hearts of the audience over the past decades.

He is always devoted to the next generation like Dang Phuong Nam (left).

PHOTO: NVCC

A GREAT COACH

Former football star Nguyen Cao Cuong is truly one of the biggest stars of Vietnamese football, who has created many beautiful moments, impressive records and achievements throughout his career. In real life, he is approachable, simple and loved by many people.

After finishing his illustrious football career, he switched to coaching with the mission of training more quality successors for The Cong Club and Vietnamese football. With many years of experience in the top football environment, excellent demonstration ability and especially the prestige of a star, he became a great teacher. Many generations of strikers and midfielders of the military later such as Sy Long, Dang Dung, Nguyen Hong Son, Xuan Thanh, Dang Phuong Nam, Thach Bao Khanh... were more or less inspired by Coach Cao Cuong and enthusiastically instructed on key points for progress.

My most memorable memory with former player Nguyen Cao Cuong was in the 1996 national championship - the season when I first set foot in The Cong from the small provincial football team Nam Dinh. With his sincere, thorough and meticulous guidance, I gradually made steady and stable progress in the Army Club shirt. Before each match, I practiced the skills of a striker, how to move to create space, occupy space, how to break the offside trap, how to connect with senior midfielders like Dinh The Nam or Nguyen Hong Son.

Player Cao Cuong (second from right, sitting row) has always been a mainstay in the attack of the teams he plays for.

The competitive spirit, determination, dedication and tenacity in every phase of the game are also the knowledge that I was taught in the training sessions with him. After each match, at each coffee session, I participated in an extremely useful "class" on the sidelines. He thoroughly instructed on professional issues, theoretical knowledge, along with analyzing the match, giving sincere criticism and pointing out weaknesses for young players to improve and develop. That is truly an immense value for the development of a player's career, a luck that not everyone has in life.

Currently, at the age of 71, former football star Cao Cuong still has a simple and peaceful life in a small house on Phan Huy Ich old street, Hanoi. His daily life is gentle with morning coffee and football discussions with friends. He is still a senior sports consultant of T&T Group. He still maintains a good health foundation thanks to his physical qualities as an athlete and the living habits of a professional player. Although he no longer plays football directly on the field, he still practices sports diligently every day. A healthy lifestyle has helped him maintain the form and charisma of a star. (continued)

TWO TIMES TOP 1 NATIONAL OUTSTANDING ATHLETE

Former football star Nguyen Cao Cuong won the Northern championship in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979; and the national championship in 1981-1982, 1982-1983, 1987 and 1990. He was twice ranked number 1 in the list of 10 outstanding athletes nationwide - a poll organized by the Vietnam Sports Newspaper in 1981 and 1983. He was voted the best player of Vietnam in 20 years of national reunification (1975-1995) by the Lao Dong Newspaper, with the highest number of votes.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguyen-cao-cuong-so-10-huyen-thoai-18525042119533289.htm