Lê Công Vinh (born 10 December 1985) is a Vietnamese former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a forward. He was part of the Vietnam national team between 2004 and 2016, and played predominantly as an attacker. Considered one of the greatest players in Vietnamese football's history, Công Vinh achieved the highest scores of all time in the Vietnam national team, and received three Vietnamese Golden Ball Awards (2004, 2006, and 2007).

Early life

Lê Công Vinh was born in Quỳnh Lâm, Quỳnh Lưu, Nghệ An; he has two older sisters and one younger sister. Due to difficult conditions for the whole family, his father smuggled cocaine; he was later arrested and sentenced to 12 years in jail. However, after only 8 years due to good behavior, he was released before the due date.

Club career

Song Lam Nghe An

Born in Nghệ An, Công Vinh is a well-known Vietnamese footballer. Công Vinh is widely considered as one of the best strikers that Song Lam Nghe An has ever produced, along with

Phạm Văn Quyến Phạm Văn Quyến (born April 29, 1984) is a retired Vietnamese footballer. Since his days as a Vietnamese U-16 international, Quyến was considered one of the most promising young players in Vietnam and a worthy successor to the legendary ...

. He is currently SLNA's all-time top goal scorer. At the age of 14, he began to train his football skill. After the qualification to junior team of Nghệ An, he was classified to be "not so potential", both in skill and mentality. At the age of 18, he was picked into the main team of Song Lam Nghe An where he started to show his ability at JVC Cup 2003. Until 2004, he scored his first score at V-League on 8 February against Dong Thap team. Later he received Best New Player of the Year as well as Best Player of the Year Award. Eventually, he received many invitations from other football clubs, even from Japan and Saudi Arabia for the salary up to $10,000/month.

Hanoi T&T

In 2008, after a well-documented transfer saga, Công Vinh turned down Thể Công at the last minute to accept a more lucrative offer from Hanoi T&T; it was the highest transfer fee in Vietnamese football at the time.

Leixões S.C.

At the beginning of August 2009, T&T announced that Công Vinh would be joining Leixões Sport Club of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in a three-month loan deal, starting 1 September 2009. The deal was facilitated by Henrique Calisto, who was once Leixões' manager. On 24 August 2009, Công Vinh officially signed with Leixões and was given the number 29 shirt. Two days later, in a friendly match against Padroense F.C., he scored his first goal for the club, as a substitute, in the 89th minute to secure a 2–0 win. He was included in the 18-man squad for the match against defending champions F.C. Porto on 12 September, but did not make the field in an eventual 1–4 loss. His first-team debut came on 4 October, in a league contest against União de Leiria, making him the first ever Vietnamese footballer to play in a professional European league; he played the entire ninety minutes in an eventual 3–2 home win, despite trailing for most of the game. On 18 October 2009, Công Vinh scored his first official goal for Leixões, in a 2–1 Portuguese Cup win against Casa Pia AC. In January of the following year, he returned to Hà Nội T&T.

Hanoi ACB

Lê Công Vinh made the move from T&T to its city rivals Hanoi FC in September 2011. Công Vinh was set to sign a three-year extension with T&T but decided to move to ACB after the controversial 2011 V-League season and the set up at ACB.

Return to Song Lam Nghe An

After Hanoi FC was dissolved following the 2012 season, Công Vinh began the long process of finding a new club. After turning down trial offers from Sriwijaya of the Indonesia Super League and

Consadole Sapporo is a Japanese professional football club based in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. They will play in the 2025 J2 League, the second tier league of Japanese football, after relegation from the J1 League at conclusion of th ...

of the J. League Division 2, he settled with a one-year loan move back to Song Lam Nghe An.

Consadole Sapporo

After failed negotiations earlier in the 2013 V.League 1 season, Le Cong Vinh announced that he would join

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

side

on loan on 22 July 2013. His time with Consadole is scheduled to last five months from August 2013 through 1 January 2014. However, he decided to return to Vietnam one month earlier than expected because Consadole Sapporo could not advance to the play-off match. During his four months stay in Japan, he managed to score four times in 11 appearances for the club. With 2 of those goals and 9 of those appearances in the J2 League.

Becamex Binh Duong

In a game against Xi Mang Hai Phong on 27 April 2015, Công Vinh set the record for the fastest goal ever scored in Vietnamese football as he put the ball in the net with barely ten seconds played. Bình Dương kicked off the match with Công Vinh latching on to a quick pass to chip the ball over goalkeeper

Nguyễn Thanh Thắng Nguyễn Thanh Thắng (born 24 December 1988) is a Vietnamese footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for V.League 1 club Đông Á Thanh Hóa. Honours Hải Phòng *Vietnamese National Cup: 2014 *Vietnamese Super Cup: Runner-up: 2015 Thanh H� ...

in an eventual 3–1 win.

International career

In the first group match of the 2007 Asian Cup, Công Vinh scored the second goal for

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

to secure a 2–0 victory against

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. The team eventually reached the quarterfinals, before falling to eventual champions

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. After a quiet and much criticised performance in the group stage in the

2008 AFF Championship The 2008 AFF Championship was the seventh edition of the tournament. It was primarily sponsored by Suzuki and therefore officially known as the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup. The group stage was held in Indonesia and Thailand from 5 to 10 December 2008. T ...

, Công Vinh came through in the elimination stage. He set up the only goal in a 1–0 upset of defending champions

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. In the first leg of the final, Công Vinh scored the second to give Vietnam a victory against

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. In the second leg, Công Vinh set off celebrations throughout Vietnam as he headed home the tying goal in the last minute, thus giving Vietnam its first ever

AFF Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

title. After the 2016 AYA Bank Cup, Công Vinh announced that he would retire from international football after the

2016 AFF Championship The 2016 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and officially known as the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016, was the 11th edition of the AFF Championship, the Association football, football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation ...

. If only the Vietnamese national squad able to qualify for the finals in the 2016 edition, Công Vinh said that he will think twice about his retirement as he received request from international clubs to play in their league for the 2017 edition. Shortly after the end of Vietnam's match against Indonesia in the 2016 semi-finals, which they lost, Công Vinh retired from professional football.

International goals

Vietnam olympic

Vietnam

Playing style

Công Vinh is widely considered one of the best and well-rounded players in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. He is known for his exceptionally speed and hardworking, his ideal position is second striker. However, he is also deployed as a left winger or center forward thanks to his pace and exceptional sprinting. In spite of his 1,72 m height, Công Vinh is well known for his aerial ability. Besides, he is also a dead-ball specialist. His weakness in playing style is that he cannot play well as a lone striker in tactical systems using only one forward because of his slender physique, which was proven in AFF Cup 2012. His disappointing performance in this tournament is an example when Coach Phan Thanh Hung deployed him play as a central forward in the 4–2–3–1 formation. After his ACL injury in 2010, Công Vinh simplized his playing style when most of his goals came from his positioning and one-touch finishing. Additionally, Công Vinh has stated that he idolises

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-t ...

and

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

. His favourite approach is to attack the box from both flanks and attempt to strike or create scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Honors

In 2009, Công Vinh ranked number five on ''Goal.coms ''Top Ten Most Promising Youngsters in Asian Football''. In March 2009, he was given the Vietnamese Bronze Ball 2008, also holding the record for most goals scored in a single season by a Vietnamese player in the V.League for several seasons. By May 2010, he was the top Vietnamese goal-scorer in the league's history, also ranking second in the all-time top scorers table. On 22 March 2014, Công Vinh became the first player of the Vietnam football league to score 100 goals when Song Lam Nghe An won 3–1 against

Hai Phong Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 urban districts, 6 rural districts and 1 municipal city (sub-city). Two ...

Personal life

Rumors surfaced on 2 January 2009 that Công Vinh had been dating Vietnamese singer Thủy Tiên as they were spotted together on multiple occasions. During an interview before leaving Vietnam to join Leixões, Công Vinh revealed to the press that he and the singer are dating. They got engaged two years later. The couple had their first child, a daughter, on 2 January 2013 – the same day when the couple first met.

Manager

After announcing his official retirement from professional football, Công Vinh joined Ho Chi Minh City FC as the deputy manager of the club, a role he served until May 2018.

Controversy

On 21 March 2010, in the match between Hà Nội T&T and TĐCS Đồng Tháp in the 6th round of the 2010 V-League on Cao Lãnh field, Công Vinh was unhappy with the referee's decision and bowed to the main referee Vũ Bảo Linh and was given a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

. After the match, Công Vinh apologized but was still punished by the VFF Disciplinary Committee with a 6-match suspension and a fine of 10 million dong (later reduced to 3 matches), There were even rumors that Công Vinh threatened to retire after receiving the penalty, which he had to correct several times. The Hà Nội T&T management also stripped him of his captain's armband after that match. On 23 May 2018, Công Vinh and journalist Trần Minh released his autobiography "Lê Công Vinh: Phút 89". The book caused controversy in the Vietnamese football community when Công Vinh included details such as Tấn Tài not passing the ball to him, coach Riedl rarely using him, or having conflicts with his predecessors such as Lê Huỳnh Đức or coach

Lê Thụy Hải Lê Thụy Hải (1 January 1946 – 7 May 2021) was a Vietnamese association football, football player and manager. Playing career Lê Thụy Hải played for Tong Cuc Duong Sat, Tổng Cục Đường Sắt between 1965 and 1980, and also play ...

. Many of the people mentioned in the book expressed their dissatisfaction, saying that Công Vinh was making up stories, and even announced that they were "cutting ties" with him. In early June 2021, Công Vinh appeared in two

promotional video In video production, a promotional video is marketing or advertising: Arts, media and entertainment * Promotional recording, an audio or video recording distributed to publicize a recording * Trailer (promotion), a commercial advertisement for a ...

s for an online football streaming application called BK8. However, the application is actually an illegal gambling site. Công Vinh's representative later confirmed that the former captain of the Vietnamese national team was the person in the video, and said: "They promised that it was only an online TV application with a completely different domain name, and not related to gambling. However, we received information that gambling websites are using Công Vinh's image illegally. Công Vinh's side has contacted them to handle the issue since last week, but has not received a response. We are collecting evidence and working with lawyers." Công Vinh also apologized to the public and announced that he would never again accept an endorsement or advertisement for any football-related application.

Honours

Hanoi T&T * V.League 1: 2010 *

Vietnamese Super Cup Vietnamese National Football Super Cup (), also called the Thaco National Football Super Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is Vietnamese football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous V.League 1 season and the holders of th ...

: 2010 Becamex Binh Duong * V.League 1: 2015 *

Vietnamese National Cup Vietnamese National Football Cup (), commonly recognized and branded as the National Cup (), is a Vietnamese Association football, football competition. It is one of the most important club competitions in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Cup was first he ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

: 2015 Vietnam U23 *

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

: runner-up

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Vietnam *

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Individual * Vietnamese Golden Ball: 2004, 2006, 2007 * Best Young Player of

Vietnam Football Federation The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF; ) is the governing body of football in Vietnam. It is responsible for the all Vietnamese teams of association football, futsal and beach soccer as well as national competitions. VFF is currently a member of ...

: 2004 * Best Goal in the ASEAN Football Championship:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

* V-League Team of the season: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Le, Cong Vinh 1985 births Living people Footballers from Nghệ An province Vietnamese men's footballers 21st-century Vietnamese sportsmen Men's association football forwards Primeira Liga players Leixões S.C. players Song Lam Nghe An FC players V.League 1 players Hanoi FC players Becamex Binh Duong FC players Vietnam men's international footballers 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Vietnamese expatriate men's footballers Vietnamese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal J2 League players Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo players Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Vietnamese expatriate sportspeople in Japan Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games SEA Games silver medalists for Vietnam SEA Games medalists in football Competitors at the 2003 SEA Games Competitors at the 2005 SEA Games Asian Games competitors for Vietnam