Lê Công Vinh

Lê Công Vinh (born 10 December 1985, in Nghệ An, Vietnam) is a retired Vietnamese footballer. He was a part of the Vietnamese national team from 2004 to 2016 as an attacker. He received three Golden Ball Awards (2004, 2006, 2007). Le is considered as one of the greatest football players in Vietnam football's history, achieving the highest scores of all time in the Vietnam National Football Team. On December 8, 2016, after losing to Indonesia at the AFF Cup 2016, he officially retired after an 18-year career. He is Vietnamese legend football player and the most famous in southeast Asia.

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Lê, but is often simplified to Le in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Vinh.
Lê Công Vinh
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-12-10) 10 December 1985
Place of birth Quỳnh Lưu, Nghệ An, Vietnam
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1998–2004 Sông Lam Nghệ An
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2008 Sông Lam Nghệ An 61 (49)
2009–2011 Hà Nội T&T 40 (26)
2009 → Leixões (loan) 3 (1)
2012 Hà Nội 1956 23 (11)
2013–2014 Sông Lam Nghệ An 36 (23)
2013 → Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (loan) 9 (2)
2015–2016 Becamex Bình Dương 35 (9)
Total 209 (124)
National team‡
2001–2003 Vietnam U20 9 (5)
2003–2007 Vietnam U23 and Olympic 28 (10)
2004–2016 Vietnam 83 (51)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 September 2016
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 December 2016

Le was the deputy of Ho Chi Minh City's Football Club. He married Vietnamese singer Thuy Tien in 2014 and they have one daughter.

Early life

He was born in Quynh Lam, Quynh Luu, Nghe An; he has two older sisters and one younger sister. Due to difficult conditions for the whole family, his father smuggled cocaine; he was later arrested and sentenced to 12 years in jail. However, after only 8 years due to good behavior, he was released before the due date.

Club career

Sông Lam Nghệ An

Born in Nghệ An, Vinh is a well-known Vietnamese footballer. Vinh is widely considered the one of the best strikers that Sông Lam Nghệ An has ever produced, along with Phạm Văn Quyến. He is currently SLNA's all-time top goal scorer.

At the age of 14, he began to train his football skill. After the qualification to junior team of Nghe An, he was classified to be "not so potential", both in skill and mentality.

At the age of 18, he was picked into the main team of Song Lam Nghe An where he started to show his ability at JVC Cup 2003.

Until 2004, he scored his first score at V-League on February 8 against Dong Thap team. Later he received Best New Player of the Year as well as Best Player of the Year Award. Eventually, he received many invitations from other football clubs, even from Japan and Saudi Arabia for the salary up to $10,000/month.

Hà Nội T&T

In 2008, after a well-documented transfer saga, Vinh turned down Thể Công at the last minute to accept a more lucrative offer from Hà Nội T&T; it was the highest transfer fee in Vietnamese football at the time.[1]

Leixões S.C.

At the beginning of August 2009, T&T announced that Vinh would be joining Leixões Sport Club of Portugal in a three-month loan deal, starting 1 September 2009.[2][3] The deal was facilitated by Henrique Calisto, who was once Leixões' manager.

On 24 August 2009, Vinh officially signed with Leixões and was given the number 29 shirt. Two days later, in a friendly match against Padroense F.C., he scored his first goal for the club, as a substitute, in the 89th minute to secure a 2–0 win. He was included in the 18-man squad for the match against defending champions F.C. Porto on 12 September,[4] but did not make the field in an eventual 1–4 loss. His first-team debut came on 4 October, in a league contest against União de Leiria, making him the first ever Vietnamese footballer to play in a professional European league;[5] he played the entire ninety minutes in an eventual 3–2 home win, despite trailing for most of the game.[6]

On 18 October 2009, Vinh scored his first official goal for Leixões, in a 2–1 Portuguese Cup win against Casa Pia AC. In January of the following year, he returned to Hà Nội T&T.

Hà Nội FC

Le Cong Vinh made the move from T&T to its city rivals Hà Nội FC in September 2011. Vinh was set to sign a three-year extension with T&T but decided to move to ACB after the controversial 2011 V-League season and the set up at ACB.[7]

Sông Lam Nghệ An

After Hà Nội FC was dissolved following the 2012 season, Công Vinh began the long process of finding a new club. After turning down trial offers from Sriwijaya[8] of the Indonesia Super League and Consadole Sapporo[9] of the J. League Division 2, he settled with a one-year loan move back to Sông Lam Nghệ An.[10]

Consadole Sapporo

After failed negotiations earlier in the 2013 V.League 1 season, Le Cong Vinh announced that he would join J2 League side Consadole Sapporo on loan on 22 July 2013.[11] His time with Consadole is scheduled to last five months from August 2013 through 1 January 2014.[12] However, he decided to return to Vietnam one month earlier than expected because Consadole Sapporo could not advance to the play-off match. During his four months stay in Japan, he managed to score four times in 11 appearances for the club. With 2 of those goals and 9 of those appearances in the J2 League. [13]

Becamex Bình Dương

In a game against Xi Măng Hải Phòng FC on 27 April 2015, Công Vinh set the record for the fastest goal ever scored in Vietnamese football as he put the ball in the net with barely ten seconds played. Bình Dương kicked off the match with Công Vinh latching on to a quick pass to chip the ball over goalkeeper Nguyễn Thanh Thắng in an eventual 3–1 win.[14]

International career

In the first group match of the 2007 Asian Cup, Vinh scored the second goal for Vietnam to secure a 2–0 victory against United Arab Emirates. The team eventually reached the quarterfinals, before falling to eventual champions Iraq.

After a quiet and much criticised performance in the group stage in the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup, Vinh came through in the elimination stage. He set up the only goal in a 1–0 upset of defending champions Singapore. In the first leg of the final, Vinh scored the second to give Vietnam a victory against Thailand in Bangkok.

In the second leg, Vinh set off a wild celebration throughout Vietnam as he headed home the tying goal in the last minute time to give Vietnam the first ever ASEAN Football Championship title.[15]

After the 2016 AYA Bank Cup, Vinh announced that he would retire from international football after the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup.[16] If only the Vietnamese national squad able to qualify for the finals in the 2016 edition, Vinh said that he will think twice about his retirement as he received request from international clubs to play in their league for the 2017 edition, but as the deep wounds to his heart was too severe to heal as Vietnam unable to qualify the AFF finals for the third time since the 2008 edition, Vinh decide to officially retire shortly after the end of the match against Indonesia in the 2016 semi-finals.[17]

Vietnam olympic
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 December 2003Hanoi, Hàng Đẫy Stadium Laos1–01-02003 Southeast Asian Games
2.28 November 2006Al-Gharafa Stadium, Al-Rayyan Bahrain1–01-22006 Asian Games
3.5 December 2006Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha Bangladesh4–15-12006 Asian Games
4.2 December 2005Bacolod, Panaad Stadium Malaysia1–12-12005 Southeast Asian Games
5.2–1
6.28 February 2007Thiên Truong Stadium, Nam Định Lebanon1–02-0Asian football qualifiers for 2008 Olympics
7.14 March 2007Mattoangin Stadium, Makassar Indonesia1–01-0Asian football qualifiers for 2008 Olympics
8.1 December 2007Nakhon Ratchasima Malaysia1–03-12007 Southeast Asian Games
9.2–0
10.8 December 2007Banbueng Municipality Stadium, Chonburi, Thailand Singapore2–32-32007 Southeast Asian Games

Vietnam
Scores and results list Vietnam's goal tally first.[18]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.20 August 2004Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium Myanmar1–05–02004 Ho Chi Minh City International Football Cup
2.5–0
3.24 August 2004Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium India1–02–12004 Ho Chi Minh City International Football Cup
4.9 December 2004Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium Cambodia3–19–12004 AFF Championship
5.8–1
6.9–1
7.15 December 2004Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Laos1–03–02004 AFF Championship
8.26 December 2006Bangkok, Suphachalasai Stadium Kazakhstan2–12–12006 King's Cup
9.28 December 2006Bangkok, Suphachalasai Stadium Singapore3–23–22006 King's Cup
10.17 January 2007Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar Laos1–09–02007 AFF Championship
11.2–0
12.5–0
13.24 June 2007Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Jamaica1–03–0Friendly
14.30 June 2007Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Bahrain1–15–3Friendly
15.2–1
16.8 July 2007Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium United Arab Emirates1–02–02007 AFC Asian Cup
17.1 October 2008Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium Myanmar1–12–32008 Ho Chi Minh City International Football Cup
18.2–3
19.5 October 2008Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium Turkmenistan2–32–32008 Ho Chi Minh City International Football Cup
20.26 November 2008Singapore, Jurong East Stadium Singapore1–12–2 (4–5 pen.)Friendly (Non-FIFA, Official for VFF)
21.24 December 2008Bangkok, Rajamangala Stadium Thailand2–02–12008 AFF Championship (Final)
22.28 December 2008Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Thailand1–11–12008 AFF Championship (Final)
23.14 January 2009Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Lebanon2–03–12011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
24.17 January 2010Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium China PR1–21–22011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
25.29 June 2011Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium Macau1–06–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
26.2–0
27.3–0
28.3 July 2011Macau, Estádio Campo Desportivo Macau3–07–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
29.4–0
30.5–1
31.6–1
32.11 September 2012Shah Alam, Shah Alam Stadium Malaysia1–02–0Friendly
33.2 July 2014Bình Dương, Gò Đậu Stadium Myanmar3–06–0Friendly
34.4–0
35.5–0
36.6 September 2014Hai Phong, Lạch Tray Stadium Hong Kong3–13–1Friendly
37.22 November 2014Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Indonesia2–12–22014 AFF Championship
38.25 November 2014Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Laos2–03–02014 AFF Championship
39.11 December 2014Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Malaysia1–22–42014 AFF Championship (Semi Final)
40.2–4
41.8 October 2015Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Iraq1–01–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
42.24 March 2016Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Chinese Taipei1–14–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
43.4–1
44.31 May 2016Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Syria1–02–0Friendly
45.3 June 2016Yangon, Thuwunna Stadium Hong Kong1–12–2 (4–3 pen.)2016 AYA Bank Cup (Semi Final)
46.2–1
47.6 June 2016Yangon, Thuwunna Stadium Singapore1–03–0 (a.e.t.)2016 AYA Bank Cup (Final)
48.6 October 2016Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium North Korea2–15–2Friendly
49.8 November 2016Hanoi, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Indonesia1–13–2Friendly
50.20 November 2016Yangon, Thuwunna Stadium Myanmar2–12–12016 AFF Championship
51.26 November 2016Naypyidaw, Wunna Theikdi Stadium Cambodia1–02–12016 AFF Championship

Playing style

Vinh is widely considered one of the best players in South-East Asia. He is known for his exceptionally quick first step, having played in the traditional forward as well as the second striker role.

Additionally, Vinh has stated that he idolises Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo,[19] two of the best wingers in modern football. His favourite approach is to attack the box from both flanks and attempt to strike or create scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Honors

In 2009, Vinh ranked number five on Goal.com's Top Ten Most Promising Youngsters in Asian Football.[20] In March 2009, he was given the Vietnamese Bronze Ball 2008, also holding the record for most goals scored in a single season by a Vietnamese player in the V-League for several seasons.[21] By May 2010, he was the top Vietnamese goal-scorer in the league's history, also ranking second in the all-time top scorers table.[22] On 22 March 2014, Vinh became the first player of the Vietnam football league to score 100 goals when Sông Lam Nghệ An F.C. won 3–1 against Hải Phòng F.C..[23]

Personal life

Rumors surfaced in early 2009 that Vinh had been dating Vietnamese singer Thủy Tiên as they were spotted together on multiple occasions. During an interview before leaving Vietnam to join Leixões, Vinh revealed to the press that he and the singer are in fact a couple.[24] They became engaged two years later. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter in January 2013.[17]

Manager

After announced his official retirement from professional football, Lê Công Vinh joined Hồ Chí Minh City, he was appointed as the deputy manager of the club.

Honours

International

Vietnam Olympic

Runners-up : SEA Games: 2003, 2005
  • Ho Chi Minh City International Football Cup
Winners : 2005
Runners-up : 2004
Third place : 2006

Vietnam

Winners : 2008
Runners-up : 2006
  • AYA Bank Cup
Winners : 2016

Individuals

See also

References
  1. "Công Vinh bất ngờ từ chối Thể Công để tới T&T Hà Nội". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
  2. "Công Vinh thi đấu ở giải vô địch Bồ Đào Nha". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  3. Vietnam's Le Cong Vinh set for loan with Portugal's Leixoes; GOAL.com, 7 August 2009
  4. Công Vinh được Lexoes SC xếp đá trận gặp Porto Archived 14 September 2009 at Archive.today
  5. Soccer star Cong Vinh makes history in Portugal
  6. Leixoes SC vs Uniao Leiria; at WSN.com
  7. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/sports/13376/cong-vinh-leaves-hanoi-t-t-to-hanoi-acb.html
  8. "Vietnam's top striker seeks job in Indonesia". english.vietnamnet.vn. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  9. "Cong Vinh invited to play football in Japan". english.vietnamnet.vn. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  10. "Striker Cong Vinh set for return to Song Lam Nghe An". Vietnamnews.vn. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  11. "Cong Vinh to join Japanese FC from August". Vietnamnet.vn. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. http://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/cong-vinh-xin-ve-nuoc-som-truoc-1-thang-807235.htm
  14. Noveanto, Eric (28 April 2015). "Le Cong Vinh sets V-League record for fastest goal". Football Channel Asia. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  15. Cong Vinh delivers first AFF Suzuki Cup crown to Vietnam
  16. "Conh Vinh to retire internationally after AFF Suzuki Cup 2016". ASEAN Football Federation. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  17. "Vietnam football star retires over deep wound from AFF Suzuki Cup defeat". Tuổi Trẻ. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  18. László Földesi & Roberto Mamrud. "Lê Công Vinh - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  19. Rising star brightens Vietnam; FIFA.com, 9 January 2009
  20. Le Cong Vinh among top 10 Asian Youngsters/players to watch out for in 2009
  21. Lê Công Vinh trên đường chinh phục kỷ lục
  22. All-time top goal scorers of V-League
  23. Công Vinh phá cột mốc 100 bàn ở V-League
  24. Công Vinh: "Tôi và Thuy Tien là một cặp!"
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