Door closed ?

When the squad list of Vietnam national team has not been unveiled yet, media and supporters are questioning about the possibility of naturalized players to be called up.

It's not the first time this matter has become a hot debate. From my view, most fans are supporting the idea of having a few best foreign-born Vietnamese in the national team because it will definitely improve the quality of the team, making it more competitive and simply because they are Vietnamese (type 1). Yet, some are against this trend because they think Vietnamese internationals should be of Vietnamese descent and it's strange to see some Americans or Europeans in the national team and it may harm the development of local players (type 2). Particularly for those who doesn't follow V-League but sometimes watches only AFF Cup and SEA Games football tournament, it's simply too difficult to accept strange faces though having naturalized players in national team is becoming popular nowadays (type 3).

However, it's not up to football fans to decide who will play. VFF leaders, who had been among the most eager to introduce foreign-born players into the national team, were believed to have been influenced by more powerful politicians (who are of type 3) to shut the door to those Vietnamese. Although Henrique Calisto has recently complained about the lack of quality local players to select for the national team, it's unlikely his team will be allowed to be boosted by naturalized players.

Current available naturalized Vietnamese players:

1. Huynh Kesley (Kesley Alves): Born 1981, Brazil.
Position: Striker
Club: Binh Duong






2. Nguyen Rogerio (Rogerio Pereira): Born 1979, Brazil
Position: Central midfielder
Club: Da Nang










3. Dinh Hoang La (Mykola Lytovka): Born 1979, Ukraine
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Ninh Binh

The guy in the middle

4. Hoang Vissai (Dio Preye): Born 1982, Nigeria
Position: Central back
Club: Ninh Binh

5. Nguyen Hoang Helio (Helio da Silva): Born 1981, Brazil

Position: Defensive midfielder, Central back
Club: SLNA

6. Phan Van Santos (Fabio Santos): Born 1977, Brazil
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Navibank Sai Gon

7. Dinh Hoang Max (Maxwell Eyerakpo): Born 1986, Nigeria
Position: Striker, Winger
Club: Hai Phong
Not sure if he can play because it seems he has been living in Vietnam for only 4 years. FIFA rules say a naturalized player must live at respective country for at least 5 years to be available for international games.

8. Le Van Tan (Jonathan Quartey): Born 1981, Ghana
Position: Striker
Club: Khanh Hoa









9. Le Tostao (Tostao Kwashi): Born 1980, Zimbabwe
Position: Striker
Club: Thanh Hoa

10. Tran Le Martin (Ronald Martin): Born 1980, Uganda
Position: Striker, Midfielder
Club: Hoa Phat






11. Phan Le Issac (Isaac Mulyanga): Born 1984, Uganda
Position: Striker, Midfielder
Club: Hoa Phat

The guy next to goalkeeper

12. Le Trung Son (Jefferson Valentim): Born 1982, Brazil
Position: Wing back, Midfielder.
Club: Quang Nam