Thanh Binh’s transformation journey

The shining moment clears the clouds

On March 29, 2022, in a tense atmosphere, almost all 60,000 spectators at the Saitama World Cup were silent, only the drums pounded when Cong Phuong took a corner kick for Vietnam. The ball flies straight to the area of ​​column 2, where there are 2 white shirt balls ready to cross. The tall player wearing the number 5 shirt jumped up, bent his body and shook his head to hit the ball on the ground and into the net. The Japanese fans continued to be silent, a corner of the stands filled with red flags and yellow stars exploded, the loudspeaker on the stadium sounded the name: Nguyen Thanh Binh.

Nguyen Thanh Binh and the header that changed his destiny in the match between Vietnam and Japan in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers (Image: Getty)

Thanh Binh became a hero at Saitama Stadium that day (Image: Getty)

Every great player needs a moment like that to come to light, and so does Thanh Binh.

In fact, before becoming a hero of Vietnam, Thanh Binh was also remembered by many fans. Only those were bad impressions. The Thai Binh boy is associated with one of the most confusing decisions of Coach Park Hang-seo since coming to Vietnam to work.

In the match against China (first leg, 2022 World Cup qualifier), when the score was 1-0 in favor of the team, Coach Park threw Thanh Binh into the field instead of Bui Tien Dung. It didn’t take long for those watching the match to realize this was a mistake. Thanh Binh cannot accompany Wu Lei, China’s No. 1 striker. He often let the opponent round behind his back and won in the air battles.

The boy born in 2000 became “poor” under the pressure of the striker playing in La Liga. Then the worst thing came, when the match was only 40 seconds to end, the Chinese player crossed the ball into Thanh Binh’s position, Wu Lei cleverly installed and finished to bring a 3-2 victory. breath. Before that, it was Thanh Binh who also made a mistake when he accompanied the striker wearing the number 7 shirt in the second goal.

Thanh Binh cannot accompany Wu Lei (Photo: AP)

Twice making mistakes against the Chinese team, perhaps no Vietnamese player in his twenties has to go through such a bad moment. After the match, Thanh Binh locked his personal social network account, but the words attacking him were still everywhere. Many people are concerned, will this young man with the face of a student be able to overcome that terrible pressure?

But despite everything, Thanh Binh knew how to get up. He played well in the Asian U23 qualifying round, helping Vietnam U23 win tickets to the finals, return to the national team and shine.

Rapid advancement, the mainstay of U23 Vietnam at SEA Games

Nguyen Thanh Binh is the youngest child in a family of 4 siblings in Thai Binh. He started practicing professionally since the 4th grade. Thanh Binh’s first success was winning the 2015 national U15 championship.

The first time a country player was called up to U23 Vietnam was at the end of 2020. In both friendly matches with the seniors of the national team, Thanh Binh performed well. Impressive physique (1.8m high, 78 kg weight) helps him not to be outdone in contentious phases. Thanh Binh’s ability to keep his position is also very good, much better than his peers.

Coach Thach Bao Khanh, Thanh Binh’s teacher at Viettel U21 commented: “Thanh Binh has great potential. After a season playing for Binh Dinh in the First Division, Binh has improved markedly.”

Helping Binh Dinh to get promoted, win the 2020 National U21 Championship, to the first team of Viettel FC, to be called up to the U23 team and then to the Vietnamese team, etc. All happened with Thanh Binh in less than 2 years. That can be considered a rapid development step that very few young players can do.

At SEA Games 31, Thanh Binh was one of the players in the “core” category of U23 Vietnam alongside Van Toan, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Le Van Xuan, Ly Cong Hoang Anh and the group over 23 years old. With international experience and forged bravery, Thanh Binh has become a solid block to protect goalkeeper Nguyen Van Toan’s goal.

After 3 group matches, U23 Vietnam won first place in Group A and reached the final with 10 points. U23 Vietnam is the only team to keep a clean sheet before the semi-finals. A solid defense is a very important factor for coach Park Hang-seo and his students in their journey to successfully defend the SEA Games gold medal at home. At 19:00 on May 19, Thanh Binh will join U23 Vietnam to attend the semi-final match against U23 Malaysia at Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho.