The ASEAN legends (Source: AFC) Hanoi (VNA) - The AsianFootball Confederation (AFC) has honoured Vietnamese striker Le Cong Vinh asone of five ASEAN legends on its Facebook page.
Vinh won 85 national team capsfrom 2004-2016 and netted 51 goals, making him one of top five scorers inSoutheast Asia. He also has the most caps and goals in the Vietnamese nationalteam history.
He scored the decisive goal inVietnam’s 2-1 win over Thailand in the AFF Cup final in December 2008, bringinghome the country's first-ever regional championship.
At the club level, Vinh alsodominated.
In 14 years playing for Song LamNghe An, Hanoi T&T (now Hanoi FC), Hanoi ACB (dissolved) and Becamex BinhDuong, the Nghe An province-born player netted 120 goals. With his clubs, heearned two V.League 1 titles and one National Cup. He was voted the best playerof the year in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Vinh, now 34, was the firstVietnamese footballer to play abroad and the first to play in Europe. He playedfor Leixoes SC in Portugal in 2009 and Consadole Sapporo in Japan in 2013.
Vinh retired in 2016 and becamethe first president of HCM City FC in 2017. He resigned one year later.
He now runs the CV9 communityfootball academy in Ho Chi Minh City.
The AFC named Vinh together withmidfielder Kiatisuk Senamuang of Thailand, defender Soh Chin Aun of Malaysia,striker Bambang Pamungkas of Indonesia and Filipino goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.Among them, only Etheridge is still playing./.
VNA
