Former teacher explains why Filip Nguyen can succeed in Vietnam team

" Similar to Dang Van Lam, he is a player with both Vietnamese and European blood, with a good physique. These goalkeepers are successful thanks to the Vietnamese people's strong will to overcome difficulties. Obviously, talent or potential is not debatable. Filip has all the elements and the environment to play football and develop in Europe. When playing in the continental arena, the goalkeeper's physique is even more valuable ," Thanh Hoa team's goalkeeper coach - Mr. Nguyen Chi Cong answered VTC News.

Coach Nguyen Chi Cong worked with goalkeeper Filip Nguyen for more than a month in 2016. At that time, Filip Nguyen returned to Vietnam to try out for FLC Thanh Hoa. The Thanh Hoa team wanted to find a quality goalkeeper to serve their ambition of winning the V.League championship.

Filip Nguyen is about to have Vietnamese citizenship.

Seven years ago, Filip Nguyen struggled in Europe despite being trained at the top club in Czech Republic football, Sparta Prague. The goalkeeper barely had a chance to play and decided to play in a lower league with Vlasim. However, he only played 2 matches during the 2016 season.

That is why Filip Nguyen considered returning to Vietnam to seek opportunities. However, at that time, he lacked many conditions to obtain Vietnamese citizenship. Filip Nguyen's father is Vietnamese but he lived in the Czech Republic for many years, losing many important documents used to determine his origin.

At that time, V.League did not have regulations on foreign players of Vietnamese origin, Filip Nguyen was considered a foreign player and each club only had 2 slots. Thanh Hoa Club prioritized 2 strikers Uche Ikechukwu and Pape Omar - players who had signed contracts before. Although they highly appreciated Filip Nguyen's skills, the Thanh Hoa team could not recruit him.

Filip Nguyen then returned to the Czech Republic and surprisingly won the starting position in the Czech Republic. He moved to Slovan Liberec and then Slovacko, participating in the Europa League and Europa Conference League. He was also called up to the Czech Republic national team but has not played. This is the reason why Filip Nguyen is still eligible to play for another national team if he meets the nationality requirements.

Returning to play for the Hanoi Police Club for more than half a year, Filip Nguyen's naturalization procedures are gradually being completed. If he gains Vietnamese citizenship in December, he could be called up to the Vietnam national team for the 2023 Asian Cup.

According to coach Nguyen Chi Cong, Filip Nguyen's ability to adapt to the new environment and his efforts to integrate are remarkable. This is a plus point even though he returned to the country late and did not play football in his homeland from a young age like Dang Van Lam or Mac Hong Quan.

Mai Phuong

Source: https://vtc.vn/thay-cu-noi-ly-do-filip-nguyen-co-the-thanh-cong-o-tuyen-viet-nam-ar837332.html