Nguyen Van Dung: Record holder of Vietnamese football

35 YEARS OLD, STILL WON THE TOP SCORBER TITLE

Born and raised in Nam Dinh, the career of former football star Nguyen Van Dung is closely linked to the land of Thanh Nam, with all the happy and sad memories, glory and hardships during the subsidy period. He is also a living witness connecting many generations of football in the province. From the "Dream Team" of Ha Nam Ninh Industry, winning the national championship in 1985, to the young generation that made waves in the domestic tournament at Chua Cuoi Stadium (later Thien Truong Stadium) in 1997 - 1998.

During those years, Nguyen Van Dung set two special records in Vietnamese football: the only player to win the title of Top Scorer of the National Championship for three consecutive seasons in 1984, 1985, 1986; the oldest player to win the National Championship in 1998 with Nam Dinh team at the age of 35. These great achievements were not only thanks to talent and qualities but also to persistent hard work. Nguyen Van Dung - nicknamed "Old" Dung - reached the top, maintaining and maintaining excellent qualities throughout 15 years of playing professional football.

Nguyen Van Dung has special qualities to become a good striker.

PHOTO: DOCUMENT

Debuting for the Ha Nam Ninh Industrial team in 1983 at the age of 20, young striker Nguyen Van Dung immediately left his mark with his flamboyant and technical style. His playing style was gentle and graceful, not too physical, collision, or rushing, but extremely effective due to the precision and practicality in each touch of the ball. At that time, the attacking trio of Thanh Nam football: Trong Nghia - Van Dung - Gia Man made waves in domestic tournaments. Former famous player Trong Nghia played the right striker position with a slim body, lacking strength but was very prominent with his average passes and long shots beyond 25 meters.

Left striker Dang Gia Man was an extremely compatible partner with striker Van Dung with impressive acceleration on the left flank and many accurate crosses for the super striker to score. In addition, the through balls and precise passes of former captain midfielder Hung Thai were also a source of balls for the famous player Dung "gia" to take advantage of the opportunity and score. All of those rare qualities were still preserved by the famous player Nguyen Van Dung and then once again burned in his last season playing for his hometown team. That was in the 1998 season, he was 35 years old at that time, still scored 17 goals in 26 matches and won the title of top scorer. Thanks to this achievement, he was called up by coach Alfred Rield to the national team to participate in the 1998 Tiger Cup, a tournament in which he and the younger generation Huynh Duc and Hong Son won the runner-up position when they lost to Singapore 0-1 in the final held at Hang Day Stadium.

Coach Riedl and student Nguyen Van Dung

It is true that in terms of club achievements, or the opportunity to participate in the national team in major tournaments, Dung "gia" has certain disadvantages when coming from a provincial team, without the foundation, reputation and support to have a perfect career development. But throughout his career, with his personal qualities, with his relentless efforts, he has gained a solid position in the hearts of fans.

KICK THE BALL WITH YOUR "HEAD"

With a height of 1.78 m, a slender figure and light, graceful steps, the former striker of Ha Nam Ninh Industry always leaves a strong impression with his elegant and beautiful playing style. He possesses extremely skillful feet, always knowing how to control the ball smoothly and delicately. Every time he has the ball, it is very difficult for opponents to take the ball from his feet. "Old" Dung has excellent technique but chooses a simple and effective playing style. "The most important task of a striker is to score goals. I always have to calculate the best way to complete that task. Skillful technique is just one factor that helps me achieve my goal," Mr. Dung shared.

Since the 1980s, striker Van Dung has had the habit of analyzing opponents, carefully studying the strengths and weaknesses of top central defenders before choosing a suitable playing style. That is the difference between him and his contemporaries. For him, a good player must know how to play football with his "head". "I always study my opponents in advance to attack their weaknesses. If I meet someone like Chinh "coi" (famous player Le Khac Chinh), who is too strong, powerful and plays hard, I will constantly sneak behind to avoid being pressed by him. If I meet someone who is good at sticking and running persistently, I will stand still and use my ability to accelerate in short distances to eliminate them. In general, a good striker must be flexible and attack the opponent's weaknesses," Mr. Dung once shared.

The author of the article - former striker Dang Phuong Nam (left) greatly respects the talent of former famous player Nguyen Van Dung.

PHOTO: NVCC

In addition, the football mindset is a special quality of the famous player Nguyen Van Dung. He is extremely smart in the penalty area, very skillful with his feet, and his heading ability is excellent. In crowded defensive areas, "old" Dung always knows how to move cleverly to choose the landing point of the ball. In particular, he has the unique ability to always jump and stop in the air to observe and "steer" the ball in the direction he wants. Until now, there are not many Vietnamese strikers who possess this quality.

Coach Nguyen Van Dung used to be Nguyen Xuan Son's TEACHER

When I was playing for Thanh Nien Nam Ha in 1993 - 1995, I was personally taught by former famous player Nguyen Van Dung the basic skills of a striker such as ball feeling, first step control, how to observe and analyze situations to make the fastest decisions about choosing a position, time to move or choosing finishing techniques. Even the ability to cut in to head the ball or successfully jump high in the air was thanks to his teaching during my first days in the profession. One thing that few people know is that superstar Nguyen Xuan Son, in his early days of coming to Vietnam and playing for Nam Dinh, was also guided and instructed by former famous player Van Dung on the finishing skills of a perfect striker.

At the age of 62, former football star Nguyen Van Dung was invited to be the coach of the Hanoi T&T Youth Football Training Center stationed in Bac Giang. In his free time, he still plays football with generations of veterans and is still an excellent striker with special qualities. (continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguyen-van-dung-ky-luc-gia-cua-bong-da-viet-1852504252208521.htm