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Football players who received the Vietnam Golden Ball Awards over the years. (Photo: SGGP) |
After 27 years with 26 awards, the Vietnam Golden Ball Awards, initiated and organized by the SGGP Newspaper since 1995, has come a long way. Over the flow of time, there have been ups and downs in Vietnamese football, and the Vietnamese Golden Ball Awards is proud to have been a companion, recording memorable moments through the titles awarded to deserving players, among whom many have become legends.
From a historical moment…
To be precise, the Vietnam Golden Ball Awards was born from the moment when striker Tran Minh Chien scored the golden goal in the 1995 SEA Games semi-final against Myanmar. It was the first golden goal in the history of world football in an official tournament. That goal brought Vietnamese football to a final for the first time since reunification.
That was the moment in Vietnamese football history. The beauty of the goal, the fiery atmosphere at the stadium, and the sight of millions of people pouring out onto the streets to celebrate the victory across Vietnam had made journalists ecstatic. The idea of an award to honor football players was sparked just after a direct phone call from Thailand to the headquarters of SGGP newspaper.
Although the name of the Vietnam Golden Ball Awards was inspired by the European Ballon d'Or, its voting method has had a unique difference from the very beginning. The votes are cast by football journalists from all media agencies, coaches practicing in the national championship, and the most prestigious football experts in the domestic football industry. This structure ensures harmony between the professional element and the universality of the ballots, creating high-standard results that are still close to the fans. Until now, after almost three decades, the above standards have proven the "golden values" of the award, especially the current World Golden Ball Award, which also applies a similar voting method.
…to the responsibility of not letting anyone be forgotten
The Vietnam Golden Ball Awards was initially just a "dream" seed planted in the arid land of Vietnamese football. During the period leading up to and following the creation of the award, the process of international integration for Vietnamese football remained weak and slow. It was not until 1991 that the national football team attended the SEA Games for the first time, and in 1993, they participated in the World Cup qualifiers for the first time. However, in 1999, the national championship had to be played in a non-competitive format due to negative issues.
Since then, Vietnamese football has experienced both the joy of victory and many setbacks that have made it seem impossible to rise. The Vietnamese teams suffered tearful defeats in the two finals of the 1998 Tiger Cup and the 2003 SEA Games, despite playing on home soil. In 2005, a negative incident at the SEA Games that year forced the organizers of the Vietnam Golden Ball Awards to make an unprecedented choice of whether to proceed with the award or not. By 2013, the award could not be held due to the overall decline of the entire football industry.
But those setbacks could not discourage SGGP Newspaper. The dedication, efforts, sweat, and tears of thousands of male and female football players, young and old, on grass fields or futsal courts, could not be erased by those unhappy events. Since 1995, Vietnamese football has seen at least three generations of players, and despite varying assessments, the flow of talent has remained intact. In 2001, the U23 football team was eliminated in the SEA Games group stage for the first time. However, the Vietnam women's football team won the first Southeast Asian championship, leading to the birth of the Vietnam Golden Ball Awards for women's football in the same year. In 2015, the Vietnam football team continued to struggle at the SEA Games, but the futsal team created a miracle by winning a ticket to the World Cup, resulting in the addition of a category for futsal players in the Vietnam Golden Ball Awards. In 2000, the "Excellent young player" category was included in the award system, and 16 years later, the Vietnam U20 team won a ticket to the youth World Cup.
Vietnamese football dreams
Twenty-seven years have passed, and in a simile, the "Vietnam Golden Ball Awards player" is now at the peak of their career. It is a joyous moment as Vietnamese football has also reached new heights, with the U20, futsal, and women's football teams all realizing their World Cup dreams.
However, the best thing is that everything is still ahead, with the passions, dreams, and desire to win still as fresh as nearly 30 years ago. The peaks of world football are still waiting for Vietnamese football to conquer. Certainly, Vietnamese football fans will still be eagerly waiting for new stars to be crowned this year and in the years to come.
There is a saying, "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." Over the past 27 years, the Vietnam Golden Ball Awards has received unwavering support from businesses who love football, cheering friends and colleagues, generous sharing from sports and football governing bodies, and prompt encouragement from the leaders of the central government and Ho Chi Minh City. All the support is in the spirit of "for Vietnamese football," and with each passing award, the dreams of Vietnamese football grow larger and larger and last with the development of the country.
