Nearly 2m tall goalkeeper from HAGL plays for Ninh Binh: 'Rough gem' waiting to be polished

Possessing an extremely ideal physique with a height of nearly 2 m, the young goalkeeper who grew up from the HAGL training center, Nguyen Vu Khang, is like a 'rough diamond' of Vietnamese football. Although he has not yet made many professional marks, Vu Khang is now facing a great opportunity to develop his career if given the opportunity and knows how to seize it.

Taller than Nguyen Filip and his seniors at HAGL

Born in 2005, Nguyen Vu Khang stands out thanks to his height of 1.97 meters, a very rare figure among young goalkeepers in Vietnamese football today. Overseas Vietnamese goalkeeper Nguyen Filip was born and raised in the Czech Republic, the tallest player in the Vietnamese team at the moment, only 1.92 meters tall. Another case that has also made great strides recently is HAGL goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien (the number 1 candidate for the starting position of U.23 Vietnam) who is 1.91 meters tall.

Nguyen Vu Khang was trained at the HAGL football academy, but has never been a regular for the first team in the V-League. In national youth tournaments, the 20-year-old goalkeeper has only attracted attention thanks to his outstanding height, but has not been able to leave a significant mark in terms of expertise.

Vu Khang was trained from HAGL Academy

Nguyen Vu Khang had a time playing for Kon Tum Club

PHOTO: FBNV

In the summer of 2025, Nguyen Vu Khang moved to Ninh Binh Club, a team that had just won promotion to the V-League. At this time, the reigning first division champion was making a strong investment in personnel, with the goal of creating a version with enough depth to compete in the highest football playground in Vietnam. Here, Vu Khang will compete directly with more experienced goalkeepers, including veteran Dang Van Lam. This is both a challenge and an opportunity for Nguyen Vu Khang to gradually mature.

View from Tran Trung Kien's journey

The case of Tran Trung Kien, a goalkeeper born in 2003, is currently a strong candidate for the starting position of U.23 Vietnam and won the 2024 AFF Cup for the Vietnam national team (although he did not play a single minute), is proof that success does not come early, but from patience and knowing how to seize the right opportunity at the right time.

Tran Trung Kien also made a strong impression when he was 1.91 meters tall when he was only 18 years old, but his expertise was not highly appreciated in youth tournaments. The goalkeeper born in 2003 could not make it into youth teams such as U.19, U.20 Vietnam. It was not until the HAGL coaching staff gave the first team the opportunity to play in the V-League that Trung Kien gradually asserted himself. And now, the HAGL goalkeeper is one of the names expected to become the next generation for his seniors in the Vietnam national team.

Nguyen Vu Khang is also at the first step of the journey that Tran Trung Kien has gone through. Ideal physique, reflexes and football thinking are the factors that Vu Khang already has. But to "transform", Vu Khang still needs an environment that allows mistakes, thereby accumulating experience and progressing every day. This is what Ninh Binh Club can bring to the goalkeeper born in 2005, if the V-League rookie "thinks openly" about giving opportunities to young players.

Not all talents "spark" early. For goalkeepers like Nguyen Vu Khang, sometimes what is needed most is not a brilliant match, but a persistent process, where skills are honed every day and character is forged through each time standing in the goal.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thu-mon-cao-gan-2-m-cua-lo-hagl-khoac-ao-ninh-binh-ngoc-tho-cho-duoc-giua-185250713144830082.htm