Vietnamese named in football, futsal best player lists

Hồ Văn Ý seen at the FIFA Futsal World Cup last September in Lithuania. He is a world top 10 futsal goalkeeper of 2021. — AFP/VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI — Hồ Văn Ý has been listed as one of the world top’s 10 futsal goalkeepers of 2021, while legendary striker Lê Công Vinh has been shortlisted for the Greatest AFF Cup Player of All Time.

It is the second year in a row that Ý has been named on the list by FutsalPlanet, a prestigious futsal website. The first was in 2018.

The 25-year-old player had a successful year with both Thái Sơn Nam Club and the national team.

Thái Sơn Nam won its 11th national championship last December, and Ý was voted goalkeeper of the tournament. 

He is the favourite for the 2021 Golden Ball statue for best futsal player, which will be announced next month, and already won Silver Balls in 2018 and 2020.

Earlier, together with the national squad, Ý competed in the FIFA World Cup in Lithuania. Ý gave an amazing performance, helping Việt Nam advance to the last-eight. He was one of the most impressive goalkeepers of the group round.

“Although it was a year of challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic, futsal brought beautiful memories. We are getting closer to indoor football. I myself secured honourable awards. I am happy and thank everyone for watching and supporting me,” said Ý.

Ý is the only ASEAN player and one of two Asian goalkeepers on the list.

The other players in the list were Andre Deko Coelho (Brazil), Didac Plana Oltra (Spain), Fede Perez Garrigos (Spain), Thiago Mendes Guitta (Brazil), Leonardo Higuita (Kazakhstan), Nicolas Sarmiento (Argentina), Dmitri Putilov (Russia), Alireza Samimi (Iran), and Willian Felipe Dorn (Brazil).

In football, former national striker Lê Công Vinh has been listed in the race to vie for Greatest AFF Cup Player of All Time title.

Việt Nam’s former national striker Lê Công Vinh (right) makes shortlist for Greatest AFF Cup Player of All Time title. — Photo affsuzukicup.com.

“Widely regarded as one of the greatest superstars of Vietnamese football, Lê Công Vinh’s achievements and moments in the AFF Suzuki Cup are nothing short of spectacular,” said the AFF website.

“The legendary striker has 15 goals to his name and is the tournament’s joint third highest scorer. Amongst the goals include headline-grabbing hat-tricks against Cambodia and Laos in the 2004 and 2007 campaigns. In 2008, he also grabbed the winner in a 2-1 victory against Thailand in the first leg of the finals.

“However, these are most certainly incomparable to what he has proclaimed as ‘the most memorable goal of my career’ – his injury-time header against Thailand in the return leg to secure Vietnam’s maiden AFF Suzuki Cup victory in 2008, perhaps still the most dramatic final in AFF Suzuki Cup’s history.”

Vinh retired in 2016 and opened a football school in HCM City.

Other players in the list are midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin and forward Teerasil Dangda (Thailand), forward Noh Alam Shah (Singapore), midfielder Safiq Rahim (Malaysia), and striker Bambang Pamungkas (Indonesia). — VnExpress News