Van Tu (88, white) competes with Leo Artur of CAHN Club
Photo: Minh Tu
The Cong Viettel's rising star scores against coach Kim Sang-sik
At the beginning of the second half at Hang Day Stadium on the night of September 20, when the score was 1-0 for the home team Hanoi FC, coach Velizar Poppv withdrew Huu Thang and put on midfielder Nguyen Van Tu, a former U.19 Vietnam player who could be a strong candidate for coach Kim Sang-sik's U.23 Vietnam.
That was also the moment that changed the match, when player number 88 helped the The Cong Viettel midfield "reborn", thanks to his strong and clever fighting ability, along with reasonable turns to escape pressing to bring the ball up.
Many spectators at Hang Day Stadium were surprised and curious about the guy with the biggest shirt number on the field, who has a thick body but has the rare ability to turn around flexibly and gracefully, continuously defeating Hanoi Club players in disputes.
Coach Kim Sang-sik watches the match between Hanoi Club and The Cong Viettel
Photo: Minh Tu
Thanks to that, the away team regained control of the midfield, pressured Hanoi FC and scored a goal from a great pass-and-go combination between Van Khang, Lucao and Xuan Tien before the captain of the U.23 Vietnam team, who won the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship, equalized 1-1 with a technical chip.
An impressive performance by Nguyen Van Tu, who was also born in 2003 and is in the same youth group as Van Khang at Viettel The Cong. This is the second time this season that Van Tu has played in LPBank V-League 2025 - 2026, both in very important matches.
Previously, this 1.76 m tall midfielder was named by coach Popov in the starting lineup in the match against Hanoi Police Club (CAHN) in the opening round of V-League 2025 - 2026, before being substituted at halftime.
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Van Tu is a good steel for U.23 Vietnam
Van Tu (front row, 3rd from left) in the starting lineup of The Cong Viettel against CAHN Club
Photo: Minh Tu
Playing from the start in the opening match against the leading candidate for the championship CAHN shows the special trust of Mr. Popov in his new student. The outstanding performance in the second half against Hanoi Club also shows that Van Tu entered the field in the capital derby with a reason.
In V-League 2025 - 2026, The Cong Viettel no longer has the service of midfielder Duc Chien (reunited with Hoang Duc at Ninh Binh FC), but coach Popov is confident in aiming for the championship thanks to the aggressive fighting ability of foreign player Wesley, the explosion of Huu Thang and Van Tu in the blocking role.
In the 2024 - 2025 season, the army team made a wise decision when they loaned Van Tu to Hai Phong Club, where he played 17 times (10 times as a starter). That was a turning point in the midfielder's career, helping him accumulate experience and competitive spirit to return to The Cong Viettel to compete for a starting position.
Van Tu (right cover) will return to U.23 Vietnam if he continues his impressive form at The Cong Viettel
Photo: Minh Tu
Before that, Van Tu was no stranger to the Vietnamese youth teams, being a member of the U.19 Vietnam team but had not made a clear impression due to lack of experience. This is understandable when the boy born in 2003 was overshadowed by the big shadow of his senior Duc Chien.
The Cong Viettel loaned Van Tu to Hue Club for two national first division seasons 2023 and 2023 - 2024. When he was a bit stronger, he was tested at Hai Phong Club and had an outstanding debut season in V-League as mentioned above, to turn his career to a new page.
Therefore, working with a coach as good as Popov will be an important opportunity for Van Tu to hopefully find a way to join the U.23 Vietnam team of coach Kim Sang-sik, to thicken the steel in the middle of the field currently shouldered by Van Truong.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-kim-phat-hien-sao-mai-toa-sang-dung-vao-vi-tri-u23-viet-nam-dang-thieu-185250923224047517.htm
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