Nghe An football fans from the 8X generation and earlier, no one does not know the former midfielder nicknamed Tuan “Ton”, a player who was once considered a monster of SLNA in the golden age of the decade. 90 of the last century.
Outstanding talent
Up to this point, every time someone mentions the name Phan Thanh Tuan, former coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh, he regrets it. Vinh “Nghe” affirmed: “In all my years of coaching, I have never seen an outstanding midfielder like Phan Thanh Tuan of Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) before. He possesses an excellent personal technical background and excellent tactical vision, which is among the ‘rare’. Unlike his strong teammates next to him, Tuan plays somewhat leisurely and softly. But as soon as the opponent has a moment of inattention, your goal will immediately wobble.”
Former midfielder Phan Thanh Tuan is a type of player who can use both feet well (apart from Nguyen Hong Son of The Cong, there was no central midfielder of Vietnamese football as comprehensive as Phan Thanh Tuan at that time). . The sharp passes tore through the opponent’s defense, putting his teammates in a very favorable position to score, is the trademark of the player who often wears the number 15 on his back. In addition to the task of building and keeping the rhythm. In the match, Phan Thanh Tuan also directly brought home goals with extremely delicate finishing touches.
Surely, Nghe football fans still can’t forget the super product made in the first leg match between SLNA and The Cong (1 – 1) at the 1998 National Championship of Phan Thanh Tuan. The phase of stopping the ball with his thigh and then launching a volley hit the visitors’ net of the midfielder in 1972, causing the entire Vinh field to explode, the red shirt players might only look at each other and shake their heads in admiration. That goal deserves to be included in the textbook of football. This is just one of many goals for Phan Thanh Tuan’s life at his peak. It is no coincidence that Phan Thanh Tuan was the mainstay of SLNA from the time he was on the first team (18 years old) until the day he retired (31 years old).
Many times “mistakes” with the team’s colors
It would be a mistake to mention Phan Thanh Tuan and forget regarding Nguyen Hong Son of The Cong. In terms of reputation, the former SLNA player is not an opponent of Son “princess” at the team level. With what he can do for The Cong and the Vietnamese team, Nguyen Hong Son is the idol of all idols on the S-shaped strip of land. But it is worth mentioning that every time The Cong encounters SLNA, Nguyen Hong Son is often overshadowed by the man wearing the number 15 shirt on your team’s side. Therefore, in the minds of Nghe fans, the most talented conductor of Vietnamese football at that time was Phan Thanh Tuan, not a Hanoi midfielder.
Always compared with Nguyen Hong Son. Photo: TTVH.
Unfortunately, what is the most quintessential, best of Phan Thanh Tuan is not shown in the shirt of the Vietnamese team. Every time he is summoned to the national team, the Nghe An player “smashes” to return to his hometown soon. Therefore, the whole career of Phan Thanh Tuan’s shorts and number shirt is only remembered in the color of the SLNA shirt. The dream of seeing Phan Thanh Tuan side by side with Son Nguyen Hong Son in the matches of the Vietnamese team at the SEA Games, AFF Cup…of the country’s football fans, will never come true.
Slipping on the wrong path
As a result, following years of playing and playing, Phan Thanh Tuan’s physical foundation has been worn down to exhaustion. The frequency of his appearance on the field was inversely proportional to the number of times drinking all night next to the dead pink balls and “brown fairies”. Phan Thanh Tuan’s figure fades away with tired footsteps, with his head engrossed somewhere. Phan Thanh Tuan struggled in the pain and regret of Nghe football fans.
Whatever comes, must come. At the end of the 2002 season, the season in which SLNA won the first National Cup championship in history, Phan Thanh Tuan was no longer seen playing football. Farewell with a passion for football and a huge track record in the colors of his hometown team, Phan Thanh Tuan continued to engage in evil games. Experts feel sorry for him, many teammates gradually shun him and Nghe football fans blame him for destroying their idols early. A Phan Thanh Tuan wearing a yellow shirt number 15 roamed around in the midst of the enemy players’ encirclement, now only an incomplete nostalgia.
Close friend Pham Anh Tuan is currently leading Hai Phong Club. Photo: PKL.
Referring to Phan Thanh Tuan, his teammates who once stood by him took turns saying: “The talent of Phan Thanh Tuan is acknowledged by everyone, even if it is the loyal fans of The Cong, Hanoi Police, Ho Chi Minh City Police or Saigon Port… In addition to the ability to play football infatuated with people, Phan Thanh Tuan is also an assassin in the love scene, thanks to his handsome looks like an electric male actor. Photo. To be honest, sometimes we have to feel jealous of him for his peachy level. Also because he’s handsome and good at soccer, the temptation is more for him than for us.”
While teammates of the same age in SLNA all have a stable, even well-off life, with different choices following parting with the player career, only Phan Thanh Tuan is still passionate, pretending at the drinking table. The quick love affairs “old and benevolent, young husband and wife”, the debauchery with the Brown Fairy turned him into a invalid at a young age. Looking at Nguyen Huu Thang (former Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Club), Ngo Quang Truong (former head coach of SLNA), Pham Anh Tuan (former head coach of Hai Phong Club) … Nghe football fans can’t help but feel moved when they remember. Phan Thanh Tuan.
There is a saying: “The bird that flies forever gets tired of its wings, and the horse that runs forever has a ferret”. As revealed by close friend Pham Anh Tuan, Phan Thanh Tuan has given up addiction and is trying to rebuild his life. So at the age of over forty, the former SLNA midfielder knew to “turn to the shore” when determined to stay away from unhealthy pleasures. Now, Phan Thanh Tuan no longer has to wander around the piers, bus stations … to earn money to buy alcohol and drugs, but instead lives a quiet, idyllic life in the small house of his parents. in the area near Vinh market. It was fun to see Phan Thanh Tuan “shake off the mud and get up”. Hopefully, he will overcome the adversity, created by himself!