HAGL young star Tran Gia Bao is in the top 60 world talents: Specially compared by The Guardian

HAGL young star Tran Gia Bao has entered the top 60 most promising young talents in the world in 2025 of The Guardian (UK), exactly 11 years after Phan Thanh Hau.

Tran Gia Bao is the latest young talent introduced by HAGL.

Photo: Dong Nghi

Tran Gia Bao is in the top "child prodigies" of the world.

The Guardian described Tran Gia Bao: "Tran Gia Bao became the youngest player to play and score in the V-League at the age of 16. Although still very young, he has shown maturity, skillful technique, modern thinking and can play in many positions in the attack."

The British newspaper even compared Tran Gia Bao with superstar Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), with the assessment that the striker born in 2008 could become "the first Vietnamese to make a mark in Europe".

Tran Gia Bao is the second Vietnamese player to be included in The Guardian 's list of promising young talents in the world. Exactly 11 years ago, Phan Thanh Hau, also of HAGL, was in the world's top 40.

Gia Bao is being protected by HAGL to develop naturally.

Photo: Dong Nghi

At that time, Phan Thanh Hau was only 17 years old but was "ranked" by The Guardian newspaper in the top 40 most promising young stars in the world, even rated higher than Ousmane Dembélé, the winner of the 2025 World Golden Ball.

Lessons from Phan Thanh Hau

The Guardian 's list unintentionally created a burden of expectation on the shoulders of Phan Thanh Hau - a gentle 17-year-old boy known as the "King of Endurance" at HAGL but was not prepared to deal with the attention of public opinion and fans.

The Quang Ngai native has struggled for many years to escape the shadow of the "top 40 in the world", going through ups and downs at many different clubs, playing in the first division, before gradually finding a position in the colors of Quang Nam Club, Ha Tinh and now Becamex TP.HCM.

Thanh Hau in Becamex TP.HCM shirt at the age of 28

Photo: Kha Hoa

After 11 years, Tran Gia Bao is attracting attention when he is in the top 60 most promising young talents in the world. Hopefully at HAGL, he will be protected and guided to develop more naturally and fully, to avoid the pressure of expectations for "prodigies" like his senior Thanh Hau in the past.

In fact, after scoring a goal on his V-League debut last season, Tran Gia Bao is being taken care of quite carefully by HAGL Club, with suitable playing time: 9 matches in V-League 2024 - 2025 and 3 matches since the beginning of V-League 2025 - 2026 (1 goal in the National Cup).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/sao-tre-hagl-tran-gia-bao-lot-top-60-tai-nang-the-gioi-duoc-the-guardian-so-sanh-dac-biet-185251015154035644.htm