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In an article for VnExpress, former player Nguyen Quang Hai, nicknamed “Hai Ga”, recounted his professional struggles before becoming a hero in helping Vietnam reach the final of the 2008 AFF Cup.
Quang Hai (left) and Coach Calisto have fun together during the 2018 meeting. Photo: Duc Dong.
I will never forget that afternoon: November 26, 2007.
After morning training on the soccer field of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Center, coach Alfred Riedl and assistant Nguyen Van Hiep called me to speak privately. I had a feeling something was wrong because the team had come on the last day of the SEA 2007 Games. Unfortunately, I was chosen to … stay home.
You know, I’m 22 years old, there seems to be no chance of attending the SEA Games. It was as hot as the afternoon fire, but I felt like I had fallen into a dark crater. Then I started crying like a child. I accidentally took my shoes back to my room, trying not to be pathetic, but my eyes were full of tears. The laughter of my teammates was chosen as a sharp cut in my heart. They take souvenir photos before leaving for Thailand to conquer SEA Games’ golden dream. But that photo doesn’t have me.
I cried with sadness, disappointment, and even a little anger. When coach Alfred Riedl added, I just shone in the U21 national tournament with the title of top scorer. I was also voted the best player in the U21 international tournament that year. Summoned, my goal is to be on the list of going to Thailand. In the weeks of concentration in Hanoi, I integrated well. I practiced a lot, trying to be sociable. In the friendly against U23 Zimbabwe, I also scored a goal to help the team win. I think I have done my best, I am in good shape, I can attend the SEA Games. It was a tournament that fascinated me to see on television, a place to mark heroes like Huu Dang, Huynh Duc, Hong Son …, and I was very close.
But Coach Riedl did not choose me, and in the newspaper he explained: “It is true that Quang Hai played well in the U21 tournament. But he is 22 years old, of course, he must play better than those who are 19 years old. I have three forwards.” Good is Cong Vinh, Thanh Binh, Anh Duc. I chose Tien Thanh because he just kicked the forward and played as a midfielder. “
Oh that’s it However, he said earlier that my “left stick” is a lot. At 22 years old, I learned a great lesson about acceptance.
I was not allowed to play for the U23 team, I became a bigger dream: to use the national team for the AFF Cup. Returning to Nha Trang in the exchange of family and friends, I am determined to achieve the goal. Coach Hoang Anh Tuan gave me a lot of really helpful advice. He said: “In soccer, there are good players but not necessarily suitable for a team’s game. I believe in your ability. If you are young, the opportunity is still open if you know how to try, know how to try hard and not fall.” Then he let me rest, before going back to practicing as a horse and a horse at the Khanh Hoa Club.
Heaven did not disappoint people, after a year of hard work, competition and continually scoring for Khanh Hoa, Henrique Calisto called me to call the team to prepare for the 2008 AFF Cup. Crying Mom made me cry. But mom, the tears are the same, but the tears of disappointment and the tears of happiness are very different.
I missed an appointment with the SEA Games, I had to make up for the AFF Cup. But then things went wrong. I keep getting lost in some way in team play. To improve, I need to play more and adapt. But once in a while, Coach Calisto didn’t promise me. Every day he promised to let me in, the next day I was in reserve. In the match against Thailand in the T&T Cup, he promised to kick but then he threw me into the stands as an audience.
The warblood chicken is energetic, now locked in the barn, sheltered, looking at his accomplices and rivals. It was a really terrible feeling. And when he gets angry, people don’t think deeply anymore. After the game, I broke into Callisto’s room, asked to be removed from the team, and returned to Khanh Hoa. Contrary to my anger, the teacher said coldly: “You are hot, I do not welcome you. Come back to your room to think about it, if you still want to come back tomorrow, I will give you satisfaction.”
I thought about it and still decided to leave the team. As Coach Calisto thought, VFF Secretary General Tran Quoc Tuan appeared. As teammate Khanh Hoa, Mr. Tuan advised me: “Being on the team is an honor that all players dreamed of. They must discard their ego, the guilt of staying.”
It was also an afternoon. On the way back to my room, I heard a chicken noise. The sound of a chicken neck at noon sounds dry, not as loud as the sound of a chicken welcoming the sunrise. But the moment I heard that chicken, I remembered my war chicken.
Now, I will tell you why I have the nickname “Chicken”.
I love cockfighting immensely, a deep passion in the subconscious that can’t be explained. When my friends of the same age in the fishing village of Nha Trang played hopscotch and shot marbles, I fell in love with chickens. But the poor, food is not enough, where to buy chicken money. I only know how to watch, play with my brothers. Seeing that I loved chickens and the poor body, a brother gave me a black chicken, black feathers and white legs. I love my first chicken more than anything else in my life. Just drop the notebook and hug the chicken. Mom nonstop, I want to hug her to bed.
A chicken can teach many things, if it really cares. I remember the yellow-legged chicken that I accidentally discovered during a chicken fight. The chicken owner brought him in but did not let him kick. He said his stone was bad, so anyone who bought it would sell it for 700,000 dong. Too cheap, if you later know that I was paid tens of millions for a game bird.
No one paid attention to that “seven hundred thousand” chicken except me. I saw in his eyes the courage and blood of battle. I decided to buy it. But I couldn’t let my opponent see my “blood” so they wouldn’t change their minds, I told the boss to take care of that for another 10 days and then I’ll be back. The day I held the “seven hundred thousand” chicken in my hand, I felt the vitality inside its crazy legs. I see fire in his eyes.
And then I let him try to fight the toughest chickens in my herd. And that … treats everything. He attacks without defending himself, he kicks like never before. And that golden-legged chicken won many games after that. The old-time owner, of course, couldn’t believe it was the “bad chicken” chicken he once wanted to push.
Before the 2008 AFF Cup, I was the “bad chicken” chicken. The chicken is locked in a cage, the chicken is despised, the chicken is skeptical. And I got up determined: to prove everyone wrong by underestimating Quang Hai’s “war chicken”.
And I withdraw my intention to return to Khanh Hoa. I kept fighting and waited for the opportunity. Game after game, I waited and waited. Vietnam reached the semifinals of the AFF Cup, met the defending champion of Singapore. The first leg at home tied 0-0, and we had to kick the leg away. Coach Calisto said: Right in the first half, Singapore couldn’t score, we would beat them in the second half.
The first half in Singapore there is still no table. The team’s confidence increased. The second half passed 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes. Coach Calisto threw me onto the field. I thought to myself: this is my chance. I feel like a war chicken, I just want to rush to use its sharp spurs to defeat the opponent.
Just five minutes after arriving on the field, I scored the only match, taking Vietnam to the final.
Later, I learned that the Calisto coach rarely used me in games, but he never tried to mislead my name. He gave me support, or throwing on stage was testing my patience. Fortunately, I passed that “test”.
After scoring the only goal to help Vietnam eliminate Singapore, I continued to sit on the bench when Vietnam defeated Thailand to win the championship. When my teammates celebrated their historic victory, Coach Calisto came to hug me and said, “Sorry. For what you have shown in the semifinals, you deserve to be in this final.” We have an injured player and I have no choice. “
I remember answering, “You’ve grown. And now we’re going to try this glory.”
Yes, a footballer is very much like a fighting chicken. The potential is very good, but not enough. Chicken and a young player need a lot of training, good nutrition and a strong mindset. But fighting cockfights, players must fight with their companions.Wearing a medal on the champion’s neck, people not only give 11 starting players, but also for reserve players, assistants and caretakers. Because each member contributes to glory.
From a rejected person, I became a “hero”. I have money to build a house for my mother, for myself and to buy the chickens I like. After many trips, I always grabbed the soccer ball to stand up.
And although today’s football has a great talent of the same name: Nguyen Quang Hai from the Hanoi Club, but Hai “Ga” from Khanh Hoa has a story of his own to tell.
I am doing community soccer with Cao Sy Cuong in Khanh Hoa. And I will teach you the most important lesson of your life: be persistent. Because there is always a rooster in the chicken, waiting for the day to raise the crows.
Ex player Nguyen Quang Hai
