The valuable return of Doan Van Hau

Doan Van Hau marked his return with a full 90 minutes in CAHN's away match at Buriram United in the 2025/26 Southeast Asian Club Championship on December 3.

That stable performance promises a bright future for this highly anticipated defender both at club and national team.

No matter what people say

Compared to Nguyen Quang Hai, Doan Van Hau's overseas trip is expected to be much better. At least, his muscular body and ideal height of 1.85 meters help this left-back to be on par with his colleagues in the Netherlands, compared to Nguyen Quang Hai's modest height compared to players in France.

But in the end, the day Doan Van Hau returned was not to "return home in glory" to his reputation that resounded throughout the country, but to "listen to the world's mistakes" because he was not successful. That failed trip abroad opened the way for Van Hau's subsequent downs.

The haunting thing for the 1.85 meter tall defender’s career slide was a heel injury in September 2023. Doan Van Hau’s first surgery was considered a big event for Vietnamese football.

The surgery was unsuccessful...

... made Doan Van Hau more closed, put himself in the dark, rarely revealed information or images of the surgeries after that to avoid public scrutiny and gossip. That was also the way for this defender to find peace of mind, to wholeheartedly treat and recover to build up the will to return to the field.

Doan Van Hau played well on the day CAHN drew Buriram United. Photo: CAHN .

“Life is a series of wonderful moments mixed with difficulties, but you must always keep going. Never give up. Happy to be back”, the status line written by Doan Van Hau at noon on December 4 on his personal page seemed to summarize the past 25 months in the darkness of this defender before stepping into the light of the "Thunder Castle - Chang Arena", when Van Hau and his teammates at CAHN visited the field of a very strong opponent of Thai football, Buriram United.

Doan Van Hau has indeed gone through a difficult journey with many surgeries, which at times led to him being advised to… retire from the football field. But in that difficulty, he did not falter but “always kept going and did not give up” and that day, he received the joy of “coming back” thanks to his own determination.

Shake off the mud and stand up shining brightly

The away match at Buriram is truly a test for Doan Van Hau. It is important to know that the opponent is a top team in Thailand with the desire to "win wherever they play".

The rivalry between the two football powers when Thailand no longer has the upper hand over Vietnam makes the confrontation between the two clubs in the Southeast tournament reach a stronger climax. Obviously, a player who has just recovered after more than 2 years of "good retreat" has to play in a match with the nature of "chickens crowing at each other" is a big risk, it is different from the return of Xuan Son because the Vietnam team only faces Laos, who are known to be gentle.

Doan Van Hau has temporarily overcome the difficult period. Photo: CAHN .

Like Mr. Kim Sang-sik before Xuan Son, Coach Mano Polking anxiously watched Van Hau's running steps, worried about the straight-footed, powerful and cunning tackles of the Thai team's player. But then, the CAHN strategist could also breathe a sigh of relief because Doan Van Hau had gone through 90 minutes of competition in good physical condition and in good technical condition.

In the role of a left-back, Doan Van Hau defended very effectively, causing right-winger Peter Zulj to be “trapped to death”. The fact that Peter Zulj was given the second lowest score among the players of the two teams on the field is a testament to Van Hau’s ability to manage the defense system on the left wing.

Not only ensuring a high safety factor for the home team's goal, this defender is also required to deploy the ball from the defense with sharp passes, thereby, implementing the tactical intention of quickly switching to an attacking state of Mr. Polking. It is because of these outstanding contributions that Van Hau is rated as the fourth highest player with 7.1 points, just behind goalkeeper Chatchai Bootprom (7.9 points - Buriram), Leo Artur (7.6 points - CAHN) and Bissoli (7.3 points - Buriram United).

Obviously, it was not only a match for Doan Van Hau to regain his scoring feeling but also an affirmation of his physical and professional return to the field. It is very clear that the presence of this defender on the field is extremely meaningful for CAHN, helping Coach Polking have a perfect plan for personnel in the near future. At the same time, Doan Van Hau's return also promises to help the Vietnam National Team have an even better plan for the defense system.

Source: https://znews.vn/su-tro-lai-dat-gia-cua-doan-van-hau-post1608449.html