There is a Xuan Son who loves Vietnam so much

The perfect puzzle piece is named Xuan Son

2 goals, 2 assists and countless beautiful moments at Viet Tri Stadium on the evening of December 21 helped Nguyen Xuan Son become a rookie debuting for the Vietnamese team in the most impressive way in history. The striker born in 1997 has turned the expectations of the fans, the team and himself over the past several weeks into a source of motivation to shine brightly.

Never before has the Vietnamese team witnessed such a high-level performance. Xuan Son sweeps, Xuan Son scores, Xuan Son assists, Xuan Son connects the play… The Brazilian-born striker “does it all” on the offensive front, creating inspiration to help his teammates play better and more effectively. He “set up” Vi Hao and Tien Linh to score goals, ran to open space for Quang Hai to shoot from long range into Myanmar’s net, and put his name on the scoreboard with both strong and skillful handling. The essence of the striker who scored 31 goals in the V-League last season has been released to improve the attacking system of the Vietnamese team.

And Xuan Son’s debut day was even more beautiful because of the way the 27-year-old striker showed his love for Vietnam. He ran extremely hard, putting effort into every ball and kissing the flag on his chest, with every effort and loving gesture explaining that “it’s all for Vietnamese fans”. 5 years ago, Xuan Son (then named Rafaelson) fell in love with Vietnamese football when he moved to play for Nam Dinh, a team at that time still struggling to stay relegated, but had a good relationship with good foreign players. Although Xuan Son’s 6 goals did not meet all expectations when the Nam Dinh team only survived relegation “howling” in the final round, the source of energy and determination to win (one of the factors assessed by experts as The natural talent, very difficult to train) of the then 23-year-old striker left a deep impression in the hearts of Nam fans.

If his persistence helped Xuan Son get into the sights of many V-League teams, even though he only played for a relegation candidate at that time, then his love for Vietnam kept Xuan Son continuing his adventure despite the difficulties. initial step. Normally, foreign soldiers coming to Vietnam fall into one of two categories: coming to the V-League to play football at the end of their career to take care of their old age, or playing as “mercenaries” here and there. Xuan Son is a rare exception. He packed his bags and came to Vietnam to compete in the best phase of his career, accepting to start in moderate teams to find opportunities. Then in Nam Dinh, Da Nang, Binh Dinh, and then returning to the starting point of Nam Dinh, Xuan Son’s class gradually increased, along with his love for Vietnam. Xuan Son and his family settled down in their second homeland. He learned Vietnamese, starting from everyday communication to saying commands in competition. Xuan Son and his wife and children rode motorbikes to the market to buy banana cakes, roamed the streets to eat and drink, and lived like a true Vietnamese.

After the explosive 2023 – 2024 season with the top scorer title and the title of best player in the tournament, Xuan Son received many attractive offers, including one from the team playing in Saudi Arabia. Those are all invitations with higher salaries in Nam Dinh, which can help Xuan Son change his life. Growing up in a “slum” in Brazil, playing soccer with torn shoes and having to travel everywhere to play soccer for a living, Xuan Son clearly understands the value of money. Playing football is just a “fishing rod” to support his family and if he can choose a more prosperous life for his wife and children, he is willing to do it.

However, the striker born in 1997 also understands that football is not purely about money, but also about passion and love. Because in addition to training and competition hours, players have a life off the field. Vietnam opened its arms to young Rafaelson and when he became Xuan Son, the 27-year-old striker decided to stay. There is a story that few people know: Xuan Son worked hard to learn the language, learned to sing the entire Vietnamese National Anthem even though his speech was still… babbling, then learned about the team through videos and teammates long before there was a nation. Vietnamese nationality.

As for coach Kim Sang-sik, he added Xuan Son’s name to the plan, reserved for the striker position many months ago. Xuan Son has heart and Vietnam also has heart. When thinking about “should a naturalized player without Vietnamese roots play for the national team” gradually became more open, Xuan Son arrived. It was simply the right person, at the right time.

Another story about Xuan Son is the name he chose. Son chose “Spring” as the middle name, because “spring” means luck. Spring also starts the new year with many wishes. Coach Kim Sang-sik said that with Xuan Son, the Vietnamese team will be a new beginning. And as the World Football Federation puts it, when you hear spring is coming, you see Xuan Son, see a “Western man” who was still confused and has become “Mr. Ta”, with a love for the red flag with a yellow star that is no less than any other. anyone.

SPROMOTION FOR THE TEAM VN

The “5-star” victory over Myanmar showed what the Vietnamese team can do with a versatile striker. Coach Kim Sang-sik can build a more varied and diverse playing style. If you want to hit the boundary, there is a striker ready to cut and fight in the air. If you want to counterattack, there is also a “rocket” that can sprint across half the length of the field to break through and score. If you want to impose an attack, there is also an attack that retreats and coordinates to smash and release to open space for teammates to penetrate. Xuan Son is suitable for many playing styles, to the point that in the Vietnamese team, there are jokes that if the ball is too tight, just… pass it to Xuan Son, the solution will automatically appear.

Of course, Mr. Kim will not let the Vietnamese team depend on Xuan Son’s inspiration. Football is a team game, one star cannot change the situation of the whole system, especially when the obstacles in front of Xuan Son and his teammates like Singapore or Thailand/Philippines (if they reach the finals) are all. Teams with a deep defense and extremely good team organization, not immature and careless like Myanmar.

Xuan Son’s great debut also means he will be closely looked after by his opponents. At that time, the Vietnamese team needed backup firepower. This is the problem Coach Kim and his assistant are looking for a solution to. The good news is that Quang Hai has regained his inspiration, Tien Linh is still scoring regularly, and Vi Hao and Van Vi, although not sure, scored thanks to their enthusiasm.

Van Toan’s injury may cause the Vietnamese team to change their plans. Without the speedy, sudden attack and very understanding of Xuan Son, coach Kim Sang-sik will calculate alternative solutions. Thanks to a diverse rotation strategy in the group stage, the Vietnamese team is achieving good physical fitness points and is not tired even though they have just gone through 4 matches in 12 days. The trump cards are only now appearing one after another and believe that in the semi-final against Singapore, Mr. Kim will have a way to surprise his opponent. Perhaps presenting the “double-barreled gun” Xuan Son – Tien Linh, the duo scored 2 goals together in just the last few minutes. Maybe Quang Hai and Hai Long will return to the wing striker position. Believe that the Vietnamese team still has many cards to play to determine the difficult challenge against Singapore on December 26 and 29.