HCM City left back Nguyễn Công Thành. Photo thethao247.vn

Football    

HCM CITY — HCM City left-back Nguyễn Công Thành has opened a community football centre in his hometown Bến Tre Province to explore for new talents.

The centre attracts a large number of players aged 6-17 every weekend morning.

Thành's aim is to bring football to young players in his province as well as discover talented players capable of representing professional football clubs.

"My life is about football. My teammates and I will bring all our knowledge and desire to the young players," said Thành.

The defender is one of the few players to grow up from the amateur game. He arrived in professional football without being trained at any centre.

Born in 1991, Thành came to professional football by chance.

He successfully applied for the Sports University 2 after graduating from high school, but only a month into his studies he put aside his education to pursue a professional career.

Thanks to a scout, Thành joined the V.League 1’s Navibank Saigon on a three-year contract under coach Vũ Quang Bảo after the team had just transferred from Military Zone 4 to HCM City.

Since Navibank Saigon were dissolved in 2012, Thành has played for many teams such as Sài Gòn Xuân Thành, An Giang, Thanh Hóa and Cần Thơ.

Luck came to Thành in 2019 when he signed for HCM City. There he was surrounded by top professionals and coach Chung Hang-seoung, who turned him from a normal player into one of the best left backs in the national premiere league last year.

Thành scored two goals to help HCM City finish runners-up in the league last year, and Thành was considered one of the key elements for coach Chung’s strategy that led to the club's success. He was also called up to the national team last September to prepare for the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

According to Thành, he has done well from playing football so wanted to give something back, so he decided to do something for his homeland and establish the Bến Tre Star Kids community football centre. — VNS