Bùi Tiến Dũng is the Vietnamese football fit pic god. Photo Instagram @cech_tien_dung

Peter Cowan

With Việt Nam’s two biggest cities now both under lockdown, millions of us are getting used to the idea of spending plenty of time inside.

Self-improvement has been a big lockdown trend worldwide over the past 18 months and while I haven’t had much success with my quarantine goals, this time I’m trying to take some inspiration from people within Vietnamese football.

Đoàn Văn Hậu – to work on glamour muscles

Đoàn Văn Hậu hasn’t spent an awful lot of time on the pitch over the last few years and while his skill on the ball may have suffered, his biceps have reaped the rewards.

After his loan spell at SC Heerenveen ended with a solitary appearance, the fullback returned to Việt Nam with a noticeably more muscular frame.

The 22-year-old has even drawn comparisons to the likes of Gareth Bale by local media, albeit for his calf definition instead of his performances.

My biceps aren’t much to look at right now, but a couple of weeks stuck inside doing curls with Hậu should sort that right out.

Luis Viegas – to actually learn about football

The dirty little secret about those of us lucky enough to write about football is we don’t know much more about the game than the average fan.

Maybe the likes of Jonathan Wilson can wax lyrical about the merits of employing a false nine versus a low block, but most of us are just as clueless about the tactical intricacies of football as the next TalkSport listener.

On the other hand, people in the game like HCM City FC analyst and scout Luis Viegas have probably forgotten more about tactics than any journalist has ever learned.

Throughout Euro 2020, Viegas posted links to tactical camera views of the key matches to his Twitter feed and while tactical analysis is all double Portuguese to me, some sessions in the classroom with Viegas would turn me from dunce to the Northern Irish Guardiola in no time.

Bùi Tiến Dũng – to take some fire pictures

I can’t deny that I don’t think much of HCM City FC goalie Bùi Tiến Dũng’s ability between the sticks, but boy can he take a fire fit pic.

For the less relentlessly online out there, a “fit pic” is an Instagram photo taken solely to show off your outfit and Bùi Tiến Dũng is the Vietnamese football fit pic god.

Whether it’s a smart white polo shirt to show his buttoned-down side or a jacket with no shirt to let his muscles breathe, Dũng has an outfit for every occasion and he knows how to flaunt that fact.

I’m in desperate need of a couple of tips from this sultan of swag on dressing to impress and proper Insta filter usage, just ask my partner.

Nguyễn Văn Toàn – to learn how to make a proper cup of coffee

I’m more of a trà đá (iced tea) man myself, but working from home means I’m quite often on household coffee making duty.

I can’t tell an Arabica from a robusta, but Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL)’s Nguyễn Văn Toàn should be able to help out with that.

The forward opened up a café a few months back in Hải Phòng and while he could spend a month of Sundays trying to teach me how to beat the offside trap with little success, brewing a cup of java should be a piece of cake. VNS