Nguyen Duc Phu and his turning point in life

Among the 06 PVF players called up to U19 Vietnam from August 20 to August 30, Nguyen Duc Phu is the youngest one who was born on January 13, 2003.

Despite his unideal body, the midfielder is still assured an unreplaceable position in the formation of U19 PVF thanks to his agility, observation and anticipation to be side by side with the 2001 and 2002 year-born seniors. The player from Hai Phong is one of the outstanding factors contributing to Coach Mauro Jeronimo Tavares’s team to win the 2020 National U-19 championship persuasively

Duc Phu in a duel against the player of U-19 HAGL I in the 2020 National U-19 championship Finals. Photo: Minh Chien

Duc Phuc always tells himself that he has to try his best for every match to help the team win and motivate his teammates to move forward. After performing very well in group stage matches, Phuc was selected for the official line-up for the semi-final against U19 Cong An Nhan Dan. After the victory, the midfielder was regretfully in tears despite the celebration of his teammate when he would miss the next match because he received two yellow cards.
Determination is always his powerful weapon.

Recently, Duc Phu continued with U17 PVF to win the first place in Group A in the 2020 National U17 Championship Qualificaiton to go straight to the Finals this year. “Happy or what an indescribable feeling” are the words shared by Duc Phuc when he was informed that he was called up to U19 Vietnam this time. “I think it is in part due to luck and the rest I will do my best.” – Duc Phu said.

But “the greatest happiness”, “turning point of life” for Duc Phu was when he officially became a PVF player in 2019 after 3 years of football training in his hometown. For many times, Duc Phu and his family had considered giving up football because “there is no future”.

The introduction from coach Dang Hong Truong and coach Mai Ngoc Quang gave Duc Phu a chance for a probation at PVF, then he became a full-fledged player. “That was the moment when I was busting with joy. My parents earlier told me to work hard at PVF. If I weren’t admitted, perhaps now I would be studying at a normal school and have given up the dream of a football player. My parents and relatives all showed their happiness for me because I would had a chance to study at a wonderful Academy like PVF”- Duc Phu said.

Over the past year, Duc Phu found himself much more confident, much more progressive when he trained with his teammates and seniors, who were very talented and full of determination. He also learned English and soft skills to develop comprehensively beside technical side.

What has been achieved, according to Duc Phu is just the beginning. In the future, I will do my best not to let my parents, friends and teachers down.