Portugese football club attempts to sign Vietnamese female player
Culture - Sports - Tourism - PublishedTime : 07:41, 03/08/2023
Vietnamese midfielder Tran Thi Thuy Trang is awarded a gold medal following Vietnam’s triumph in women’s football at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May 2023
Trang is the latest player from the Vietnamese women's national football team to have received an invitation.
Her national teammate, Huynh Nhu, was recruited by Lank FC Vilaverdense in August 2022 to play in Portugal’s first-tier Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino during the 2022-23 tourney on a one-year contract, with the option to extend for one more season.
Apart from Trang and Huynh Nhu, the Portuguese club once tried to sign midfielder Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung and forward Pham Hai Yen in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and complicated paperwork postponed the recruitment.
In her Facebook post announcing Lank FC Vilaverdense’s invitation, Trang conveyed her uncertainty.
Her hesitation in making a decision stemmed from her age, 35, which is considered old in football terms.
The midfielder feared that she might not be able to keep up with the high level of competition in the top-tier Portuguese women’s association football league.
“Irrespective of my ultimate choice, I view this opportunity as the most significant honor of my life,” Trang wrote in her Facebook post.
“I will forever cherish and express gratitude to everyone who has shown respect for and faith in me.”
Football experts believe that the scouts from Lank FC Vilaverdense spotted Trang not on the World Cup playing field but rather due to her remarkable and consistent performances in the past.
Trang had played 51 international games in the national team jersey as of June, according to VTC News.
Apart from her role in the national team, Trang holds the key midfield position in the Ho Chi Minh City I Women’s Football Club.
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