Tran Anh Khoa: Former player died at the age of 33, talented and ill-fated, unfinished career

On the morning of December 4, the news that Tran Anh Khoa, assistant coach of the Da Nang club's youth team, passed away was spread. Many professionals and sports reporters in Da Nang received shocking news.

The news of Anh Khoa's sudden death shocked the members of the Da Nang club because just yesterday, he still attended the announcement ceremony of the team's new President, Coach and Technical Director. Coach Dao Quang Hung said that on the evening of December 3, he also called Anh Khoa to talk about the room and work at the Da Nang youth team.

A source from Da Nang Club said that Anh Khoa left a letter of death before his death. On his body, the former Da Nang player also wears the jacket of his hometown team.

Because Anh Khoa's parents are abroad taking care of his sister, the Da Nang club and colleagues came to his home to take care of his aftermath.

Mr. Khoa is considered by friends and colleagues to be a gentle person, who lives quietly and is very attentive in training.

Tran Anh Khoa was born on July 28, 1991 in Da Nang. In 2005, when he was only 14 years old, Anh Khoa participated in the National U15 tournament in the color of Da Nang. But it was not until the semi-finals that he had the opportunity to enter the field to play for his teammates and was voted the best player of the tournament.

When his future career was open, this midfielder had to take a break for a while because of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Shocked at the age of 20, Anh Khoa fell into a state of chaos. Fortunately, he quickly recovered and reappeared in the National U21 finals.

Under the support of coach Phan Thanh Hung, coach Le Huynh Duc agreed to call the midfielder born in 1991 to try his feet in the Da Nang 1st team. Thanks to his continuous efforts, Anh Khoa integrated quickly and was positively evaluated by the coaching staff. In 2013, he was registered to play in the V.league and the National Cup.

Playing professionally for 3 years, Tran Anh Khoa was considered to sign a professional contract at the end of 2015. However, an unexpected incident struck when this player was seriously injured after a collision with Que Ngoc Hai, almost ending his career.

In the match between SLNA and SHB Da Nang in the 25th round of V.League 1 2015 which took place in September 2015, Tran Anh Khoa tried to approach the SLNA penalty area and was hit in the knee by midfielder Que Ngoc Hai Phi with both feet. As a result, he had to leave the field on a stretcher.

Tran Anh Khoa's injury was diagnosed very severe, so he had to go to Singapore for surgery. The doctor said that he had to take a break from playing for 1 year and only had a 50% chance to return to the field. For his part, Que Ngoc Hai had to receive a penalty from the VFF including a 6-month ban from playing, forced to take care of all of Tran Anh Khoa's treatment costs. The amount that Que Ngoc Hai has to compensate Tran Anh Khoa is about 800 million VND.

By 17/12/2015, after SHB Da Nang gave details of expenses including surgery, travel, medicines... of Tran Anh Khoa totaled 834 million VND. Que Ngoc Hai and representatives of SLNA Club handed over Tran Anh Khoa in cash this amount. Of the above amount, there is 400 million VND from Bau Duc to support Ngoc Hai, 70 million VND from the donation of the SLNA Fans Association and the rest is supported by the sponsor of SLNA Club.

The incident seemed to have ended here. However, then a new verbal battle appeared between the two sides. SLNA criticized Tran Anh Khoa's family and SHB Da Nang for sitting and counting money like shrimp and fish. Then SHB Da Nang accused again that they had asked for a transfer but SLNA refused, only insisted on giving cash.

After many surgeries, Tran Anh Khoa could not recover and was forced to retire in 2017 at the age of 26 because the injury was too severe.

When he heard the news that Tran Anh Khoa announced that he was retiring from football to study for a coaching degree, midfielder Que Ngoc Hai was extremely sad and felt desperate. Despite her efforts to make up for it by supporting treatment funds and apologizing, Que Ngoc Hai still feels deeply guilty.

Sharing with the media, Que Ngoc Hai confided: "I heard Mr. Khoa talk about his injury situation. However, when I learned that he had to retire after his shot, I myself felt very sad and really didn't know what to do."

Although he could not continue to play, Tran Anh Khoa was still attached to football as a coach. He completed a C certificate in coaching and became an assistant coach for the youth team of SHB Da Nang and U21 Da Nang. Tran Anh Khoa especially emphasized the importance of playing beautiful football and not playing roughly, using his own experience to educate the young generation of players about sportsmanship and respect for colleagues.

In his role as a coach, Anh Khoa always emphasizes to his students the difference between playing tricks and playing maliciously. Not stopping at words, Anh Khoa applies this philosophy right on the training field. He recounted that every time he witnessed dangerous balls, he immediately blew the whistle to stop the game and reminded his students: "I go to kick the ball, not kick people. Beautiful kicks for the audience to praise me, don't let people criticize me as a bad player."

Anh Khoa's statements and actions not only have a positive impact on students, but also send a profound message to Vietnamese football. In an increasingly professional football environment, preserving competitive ethics is a key factor to building a beautiful image in the eyes of fans.

In addition, Anh Khoa's story is also a great inspiration for the will and spirit to rise. Although he could not continue his career as a player, he still devoted himself to football in a new role. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old midfielder's career in charge only lasted 7 years.