'10 minutes of talking to Park Hang-seo changed my life': To Van Vu

To Van Vu was born and raised in a poor rural area in Quang Xuong and Thanh Hoa. He had to do many manual jobs from a young age to support his family. By the age of 20, To Van Vu has an opportunity to try a job at Dong Nai youth team. It was a stepping stone for him to come to professional football.

Van Vu shared that he had applied to enroll in HAGL Arsenal JMG Academy in 2007, the same class 1 with Cong Phuong, Tuan Anh, Xuan Truong, Dong Trieu ... but he was eliminated due to his age.

After a period of training with the Dong Nai youth team, Vu had the opportunity to join the first team to attend the Second Division, then First Division. In 2017, Van Vu refused Hai Phong to wear Binh Duong when he heard that his coach Tran Binh Su would return to lead the team.

To Van Vu gradually asserted his talent and became an important pillar in Becamex Binh Duong shirt. In 2019, he scored 5 goals and 5 assists. To Van Vu was annoyed when he had an excellent performance in 2019 but was not summoned by Park Hang-seo to Vietnam national team to attend King’s Cup in Thailand.

Recalling about that time, Vu admitted that he was too short-tempered and acted in a hurry. It was an precious lesson for him.

By the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the dream of wearing Vietnam with Van Vu has come true. However, just before recruiting, he was injured. Van Vu said: “Being call to the national team now makes me I feel sad, because of trauma and pressure. In physical training, I didn't get through it. In 10th grade, I broke my arm so I still have sequelae, so it is difficult to lift weights.

Fortunately, assistant Lee young-jin noticed the problem and discussed with Mr. Park.

After the meal, he said that I should stay in the national team to treat the injury, then later I would have the opportunity to play for the national team. The conversation in less than 10 minutes changed my mind, at first I was thinking about it because I was afraid of not being able to practice. And I stayed, that was very true decision. I thank Mr. Park very much, he inspired me.”