VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese American football player Lee Nguyen, 25, has been granted the Vietnamese nationality after ten months.
Lee Nguyen has had an ID card with his registered hometown in Ben Tre Province, his father’s native place. The player, thus, has dual citizenship of the US and Vietnam.

Lee Nguyen started his career in Vietnam in 2009, with a one-year contract with Hoang Anh Gia Lai football club and scored 12 goals from his 24 appearances

In early 2011, he left Hoang Anh Gia Lai to Binh Duong FC. He could not play football for half a season due to an injury.

Lee Nguyen, who played for the US national squad in 2007 as a substitute, wants to play in the Vietnamese national team. He said that filing for Vietnam naturalization is an initial move aimed at being called into the Vietnamese national football team in the future.

Nguyen almost rose to stardom after returning to play for Vietnam’s top-flight V-League club Hoang Anh Gia Lai in 2009, and scored 12 goals from his 24 appearances.

He had appeared in the US side as a substitute to play against Paraguay and Colombia at the 2007 Copa America and staged a friendly match with China, but didn’t score.

According to FIFA regulation, a player who joins the national team of a country from the starting line-up and plays no more than three games is still permitted to play for other national team.

Thus, the plan of Lee Nguyen to play for Vietnam is still within his reach once he is granted citizenship and selected by head coach of Vietnam, according to Vietnam’s football governing body – VFF general secretary Tran Quoc Tuan.

So far, Vietnam has 15 naturalized football players including Huynh Kesley Alves, Nguyen Hoang Helio, Nguyen Rogerio, Nguyen Thanh Son, Doan Van Sakda, Doan Van Nirut, Dinh Hoang Max, Dinh Hoang La, Le Hoang Tran Xi, Tran Le Martin, Tran Le Issac, Hoang Vissai, Phan Van Santos, Le Tostao and Lee Nguyen.

PV