Goalie Tran Tien Anh seen during an international competition. — Photo thanhnien.vn

Singapore won their first Tiger Cup thanks to a goal from Sasi Kumar in the 71st minute.

Even today, Anh is still haunted by his mistake.

“It was a situation where I rushed out to punch the ball. It was not a very difficult situation. However, due to bad judgment, the ball fell on the back of Singapore midfielder Kumar and slowly rolled into the net. At that moment I felt that everything had collapsed under my feet. Looking at the stands, fans at Hang Day Stadium seemed to be shocked and I knew then we had lost the Tiger Cup, even though there were 20 minutes left to play,” said Anh.

Kumar recently recalled that it started with a corner kick that Vietnam managed to clear. The ball was played back in for him to attack, and the rushed out looking at him instead of the ball.

The Singaporean knew he had a chance to score, but the oncoming Anh put him off so he turned his back. Both players missed the ball, but it bounced off Kumar’s back into the back of the net.

According to Kumar, he went crazy and celebrated because he knew his team would take the title.

Following the 1998 Tiger Cup final, Kumar's goal became an obsession for not only Anh but also for many Vietnamese football fans.

"This obsession has followed me for a long time. Although my teammates and the training board encouraged me a lot, I couldn’t forget it. Even when I slept I dreamt about it," said Anh.

Vu Tien Thanh, former assistant coach of the national team, said they were very disappointed about that result because Vietnam had never been so close to winning the championship before, especially after a convincing 3-0 win over Thailand in the semi-finals.

“Before the final, Vietnam were very confident of winning the championship, so when the losing goal went in we were very sad and felt like the sky had collapsed. After the match, we cried a lot. We received the silver medal and we forced cheerful smiles. However, honestly, we didn’t blame any individual," said Thanh.

Goalie Tran Tien Anh (right) and Hanoi’s training board with the V.League 1 title in 2018. — Photo thanhnien.vn

Family tradition

Anh, 48, was born into a family of goalkeepers. Anh's father was Tran Van Vinh, a talented goalkeeper for Vietnam Post and the national team in the 1960s. Vinh’s three younger brothers Tran Van Khanh, Tran Van Thanh and Tran Van Trung were also famous goalkeepers for the national team in the 1970s and 1980s.

His mother Nguyen Thi Ngan was a famous national volleyball player with more than 40 years of competition.

Anh loved football since he was very small, and he often followed his father and uncles to the football ground.

When he was 12 years old, he joined the The Cong team and quickly proved his talent, before claiming the No 1 jersey for the military team.

In 1998, Anh helped The Cong win the national championship. That season, he only conceded 20 goals in 26 matches, the best in the league. He also won the best goalkeeper award that year.

“Anh was a good goalkeeper for The Cong. He contributed to the championship in 1998. The goal at the 1998 Tiger Cup final was a freak accident," said former The Cong defender Nguyen Duc Thang.

However, due to injuries in 2000, Anh retired from competition.

In 2008, he became the goalkeeping coach for Hai Phong and helped the team finish third in the V.League 1 that year.

At present, Anh is coaching at Hanoi FC. The successes the capital team have achieved in the past decade have all been silent contributions to Anh. Hanoi’s goalies such as Nguyen Van Cong and Phi Minh Long have made significant progress between the sticks thanks to Anh. VNS

Hanoi earn hard-fought win as keeper Tien Dung makes 2019 debut

Hanoi FC keeper Bui Tien Dung had a forgettable debut in the 2019 V.League as he conceded twice in the capital team’s nail-biting 3-2 victory over SHB Da Nang at Hang Day stadium on May 19.  

Five talking points from 2019 V.League Matchday 10

Matchday 10 of the 2019 V.League saw keeper Bui Tien Dung make a poor debut for Hanoi FC and forward Nguyen Van Toan rescue Hoang Anh Gia Lai from a home defeat against Becamex Binh Duong.