That is still the Sultan Qaboos Stadium, capital Muscat, the stadium where tonight Oman will host Vietnam in the fourth match of the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. There 18 years ago, Pham Van Quyen, a boy
That was the moment `fat` Quyen received a pass from right winger Nguyen Tuan Phong. He gently clipped the outside of his right foot into the net of goalkeeper Lee Won Jae, who was then the goalkeeper of the national team.
A match that shook the Asian football world, when Vietnam (actually U22 Vietnam) before the match was only considered a tiny David, and Korea was like a giant Goliath.
Van Quyen was part of history in the victory over Korea
It was almost the beginning of a brilliant golden generation of Vietnamese football, starting with Alfred Riedl at SEA Games 22, falling painfully in Bacolod – Philippines a few years later and reaching the peak of glory with Henrique
Tonight, will memories flood back with `fat` Quyen, with Huy Hoang, with Vu Nhu Thanh, Tai Em, Quoc Vuong or Le Van Truong, when sitting in front of the screen watching his juniors compete?
And memories of the past have flooded back somewhere with the two people left from that day in the Vietnamese team facing Oman tonight, team leader Nguyen Sy Hien and goalkeeper coach Nguyen The Anh, the goalkeeper.
When Oman has made great strides, it has and will become the dark horse of the group after overcoming Japan 1-0 in the first match on the opponent’s field, stumbling against Saudi Arabia and losing to Australia.
When Oman not only has… the Gulf of Oman with blue seas, beautiful small fishing villages, the magical Wahiba desert, the Muscat Royal Theater with brilliant stage lights, but also Branko Ivankovic, a coach from…
And the Vietnamese team is like walking on a tightrope, walking on the pain from open wounds, on the journey to the big ocean.
When they were facing waves of criticism from their hometown, from the new fans who still put them in the clouds, after only a few matches with opponents of a superior level, they were able to
When memories come back, forget the pain, forget the goal of Wu Lei – a player on the payroll of the Spanish club Espanyol in Thanh Binh’s momentary carelessness, but remember that
Everyone can make mistakes, even when we are old, and especially when we are young.
Let’s leave the professional dissections and analyzes for later, when the time and budget of matches are still very long and the road ahead is only a third.
Just remember the tears of Duy Manh or Van Toan, tears of anger and pain, but when we have fought hard, we have the right to hold our heads high and be proud.
Remember that there are still 4 home matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, in My Dinh.
Enjoy the match as it happens, be cool, take it slow.
Like walking on the Gulf of Oman.
VIDEO: The moment the players burst into tears after the match.
