Former coach Le Thuy Hai will be given the Fair Play Glory award. — Photo toquoc.vn

The organising board will give awards to five candidates and former coach Le Thuy Hai will be given the Fair Play Glory award for his great contribution to Vietnamese football.

Hai is a figure of great standing in Vietnamese football, however, at the age of 75, Hai’s health has been greatly affected by pancreatic cancer for more than four years.

Hai can talk about football all day with his boundless emotion and insight. Football gives him a lot of things and he has been devoted to Vietnamese football throughout his career as a player and coach.

Born in 1946, Hai started his career with the football team of General Department of Railways and played with the team until he retired.

Famous for his skills and strong finishes, Hai didn’t win any North Championships because at that time The Cong was too strong.

Recalling the past, Hai said his greatest honour was to be with his teammates like Mai Duc Chung, Hoang Gia and Le Khac Chinh to go south to compete with Saigon Port in 1976 after the reunification of the country.

"The Cong were champions at that time and Railways only finished second, but Railways were called the champion team of the workers' teams, so they were allowed to represent the Northern teams to go to Sai Gon to play," said Hai.

In this historic match, Hai left a strong impression when he had an assist to help striker Chung score the opening goal in the 28th minute before creating a strong shot near the middle of the field in the 54th minute to secure a 2-0 victory for the Railways.

“After the match ended, no one cared about the result. However, we were extremely happy as the Sai Gon audience stood up and encouraged us warmly. It was an unforgettable memory of my career,” said Hai.

Le Thuy Hai made many contributions to Vietnamese football. — Photo plo.vn

Special coach

At the age of 60, Hai began coaching in the V.League 1 in 2004 when he led Hanoi ACB after previously only coaching lower-level teams.

In just 12 years of coaching in the top tier, Hai led Binh Duong to win three V.League 1 titles in 2007, 2018 and 2014. Only coach Chu Dinh Nghiem has equalled this achievement with Hanoi FC who triumphed in 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Hai was likely the only coach in the V. League 1 without an AFC 'A' Coaching Certificate.

“There are those who have the conditions to go to school, they have many degrees, and while everyone was in school, I had to work to earn money,” said Hai.

Later, teams had to register him as technical director to follow the rules, despite the fact that he was still the head coach of the team.

Hai was often hired to coach teams when they were in a relegation battle and regularly staved off the dreaded drop with Binh Duong (in 2006 and 2013), Vissai Ninh Binh (in 2010) and Hai Phong (in 2012).

The last time he worked was for Thanh Hoa in 2016.

Famous as a personable player, he kept up his loquacious manner as a coach with many statements related to Vietnamese football published by the press and creating many controversies.

Recently, during the Hanoi Football Festival with the commemorative derby between The Cong and Hanoi Police, although Hai was very tired, he still attended the festival with his teammates.

During his treatment for pancreatic cancer, Le Thuy Hai always has his wife by his side. — Photo saostar.vn

After several decades working as a player and a coach, Hai has won hundreds of matches and now those who love him want him to win one more over fate and disease. VNS

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