Midfielder Đỗ Hùng Dũng of Hà Nội FC won the Golden Ball award for player of the year. Photo zing.vn

Football

HCM CITY Midfielder Đỗ Hùng Dũng of Hà Nội FC pipped his teammate Nguyễn Quang Hải to win the Golden Ball award for player of the year on Tuesday.

Hải finished runner-up, followed by Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng of Viettel.

Dũng captained Việt Nam to the title at the SEA Games 2019 after many years of waiting, and put in outstanding performances at both national and club level.

According to coach Chu Đình Nghiêm of V.League 1 defending champions Hà Nội FC, the Golden Ball was a race between Dũng and Hải.

"Whoever wins I am happy because they both play for my team. Hải and Dũng are both very good. They have many contributions to both the club and the national team. It was difficult to predict the result,” said Nghiêm.

"I voted for Dũng. He has made a silent contribution for many years but has not been deservedly recognised,” Nghiêm added.

Striker Cù Huỳnh Như of HCM City won the women's award. Như was a key player for the Việt Nam national team, helping them win the SEA Games for the sixth time.

Như’s teammate Chương Thị Kiều finished second, while Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Dung of Phong Phú Hà Nam was third.

Đoàn Văn Hậu of Hà Nội FC was named the best young male player and Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Ngân of HCM City picked up the prize in the female category.

The best foreign player award went to Pape Omar Faye of Hà Nội FC. The player from Senegal was a key player for the team as they took the V.League 1 2019 title and reached the AFC Cup final.

In futsal, Trần Văn Vũ of Thái Sơn Nam won the Golden Ball Award, followed by Nguyễn Minh and Phạm Đức Hòa.

Meanwhile, coaches Mai Đức Chung and Park Hang-seo received the Devotion Award for their contributions to Vietnamese football.

"The Golden Ball Award has gradually improved to honour all individuals who have made outstanding contributions to football in the country. This is also a source of encouragement for the players to try harder," said deputy chairman of the Việt Nam Football Federation Trần Quốc Tuấn at the ceremony yesterday.

"2019 is an emotional year for Vietnamese fans with success in the Asian Cup and the SEA Games. The futsal team and football clubs like Bình Dương and Hà Nội also shone on the continental arena," Tuấn added.

The Vietnamese Golden Ball award was started in 1995 by Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper with coaches, experts and journalists voting for the best players. VNS