Young star midfielder, goalkeeper win Vietnam Golden Ball 2023

Midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc of The Cong Viettel Football Club (FC) has won the Golden Ball Award for the second time. (Photo: VNA)

HCM City – Midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc of The Cong Viettel Football Club (FC) has won the Golden Ball Award for the second time while goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh of Ho Chi Minh City FC 1 picked up the title in the women’s category.

The awarding ceremony was held in HCM City on February 19.

Launched in 1995 by the Sai Gon Giai phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper, the annual award aims to honour and recognise the contributions and achievements of national footballers during the year.

This year's event was scheduled for early January but delayed as the national team were busy for the Asian Cup.

Duc was appreciated for his stable performance in both domestic leagues and national team. In the V.League 1 2023, he scored five goals and assisted five, contributing a big part to The Cong-Viettel's third-place finish. He netted one and had two assists for the club in the National Cup, which saw The Cong-Viettel earning silver.

In the national team, Duc was one of key players in Philippe Troussier's tactics. He scored two goals in Vietnam’s friendly matches against Syria and Palestine last year.

Earlier, Duc achieved the glory in 2021.

The Silver Ball and Bronze Ball titles went to striker Pham Tuan Hai of Hanoi FC and goalkeeper Dang Van Lam of Binh Dinh FC.

The Golden Ball Award also honours goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh. (Photo: VNA)

Meanwhile, Tran Thi Kim Thanh took the top title as she helped the national team win the gold medal at the 32nd Southeast Asian games (SEA Games), and made an impressive performance at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Striker Huynh Nhu of Portugal’s Lank FC earned the Silver Ball and midfielder Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy of HCM City FC 1 grabbed the Bronze Ball.

In the Futsal category, the Golden, Silver and Bronze Ball titles belonged to Pham Duc Hoa, Chau Doan Phat and Ho Van Y of Thai Son Nam FC.

Midfielder Nguyen Thai Son of Dong A Thanh Hoa FC and striker Ngoc Minh Chuyen of Thai Nguyen T&T FC were honoured with the Male Young Player of the Year, and Female Young Player of the Year.

Brazilian forward Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes of Binh Dinh FC/Thep Xanh Nam Dinh FC was named the best foreign player of 2023.

Particularly, the Devotion Award went to head coach of Hoa Binh FC Pham Thanh Luong and assistant coach of Thai Son Nam FC Tran Van Vu.