Goalkeeper Dinh Trieu was emotional: ‘Never in my wildest dreams did I think this day would come…’

Goalkeeper Dinh Trieu ended the 2024 AFF Cup sweetly when he and the Vietnamese team defeated Thailand 3-2 in the second leg, thereby winning the Southeast Asian championship. The goalkeeper born in 1992 surpassed Nguyen Filip to become the number one goalkeeper of the Vietnamese team. He started 6 out of 8 matches, making his mark with outstanding saves to help his teammates reach the top. Dinh Trieu was also recently awarded the best goalkeeper award at AFF Cup 2024.

10 years ago, Dinh Trieu quit football to look for opportunities in another profession. After that, he returned to Binh Phuoc in 2021, then in 2022 joined Hai Phong. Stable performance in the Hai Phong shirt helped Dinh Trieu join the team in 2023. He struggled to compete with Nguyen Filip and Dang Van Lam, at one time he was only the number three choice. However, with unremitting efforts, Dinh Trieu became the number one goalkeeper at the 2024 AFF Cup.

Newspaper Adolescent asked Dinh Trieu: “You once gave up football, then came back and won the AFF Cup. What does this championship mean?”. The goalkeeper born in 1991 replied: “10 years ago, I decided to quit football to look for a better job. I didn’t think 10 years later I would be here, contributing to the team’s championship. “I couldn’t even dream of it. When I returned to football, I just thought I would try my best.”

Newspaper Adolescent continued to ask Dinh Trieu: “With this success, what advice do you have for young players who are trying to build their careers and sometimes feel lost?”.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper sent sincere advice: “I want to tell young Vietnamese players to be persistent, enthusiastic and live with passion. If they can do that, one day they will succeed. “.

After winning the second leg of the final, Dinh Trieu celebrated with coach Kim Sang-sik. In the press conference room, he wore the Korean flag, while teacher Kim wore the Vietnamese flag.

“Coach Kim Sang-sik is Korean, I am Vietnamese. When Coach Kim, or before that, Coach Park Hang-seo, contributed to Vietnamese football, there was a close relationship between the two football backgrounds. My teacher and I discussed carrying the flag to show the friendship between the two countries,” Dinh Trieu confided.

He also admired his teacher when evaluating: “Coach Kim Sang-sik is very manly, always puts the overall goal first, always motivates us to contribute to Vietnamese football.”