Lee says there's not much to it: https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020...onds-transfer-rumors-linking-him-move-vietnam
Returns to Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City FC officially announce the signing of Lee Nguyen #nerevs pic.twitter.com/yMmXWe1sh4— Seth (@SethMan31) December 25, 2020 @bungadiri @TheFalseNine -- Let's update title to: Lee Nguyen in Vietnam
Lee is a good player. Coaches have their tastes and he was certainly good enough to have played more for the USMNT. That’s life.
Agreed. I think him not playing much for USMNT was part of the reason that there was a "missing generation"
while i wanted to inquire more of your thoughts on this, i was suddenly distracted by your ass. 2020 has been good to ya eh
He's much too old to be part of the Missing Generation, but if he had had a more robust USMNT career it would have helped to paper over the gaps that emerged because the Missing Generation never showed up.
Started and went 73 minutes: Looks like Lee Nguyen gets the start #NERevs pic.twitter.com/5h4Yk7lORz— Seth (@SethMan31) January 24, 2021
Says he wishes he had represented Vietnam: Lee Nguyen regrets not wearing the Vietnamese shirt Ho Chi Minh City midfielder Lee Nguyen expressed regret that he did not choose to wear the Vietnamese team shirt. “My father was very proud when I decided to play for the HCMC club and come back to play football in Vietnam. I have accumulated a lot of experience during my years playing overseas. I myself want to support my teammates and young players and I want to help develop football, even when I quit my career. I'm proud of being Vietnamese and I'm back here. My dad was very proud of that. If time comes back, I will be selected again, I will choose to wear the Vietnam national team. I've always thought about this and always regretted it. I wish I could play for the Vietnamese soccer team! I am proud of the Vietnamese blood in my father's heir. Although I cannot play for Vietnam as a player, maybe I will contribute to this shirt as a coach in the future, ”said Lee Nguyen. https://thethao99.com/bong-da-viet-nam-hom-nay-lee-nguyen-tiec-vi-khong-khoac-ao-tuyen-viet-nam/
Hindsight is 20/20; when he got his first cap I bet he thought a bunch more were going to come his way. Having made a grand total of 9 senior caps -- and recognizing he could've been a Vietnam legend -- is probably something that gnaws at him.
criminally under-used player for the USMNT...its a shame. I think he really could have been an asset during the overly defensive JK-era.
He also had to wait seven years between NT call ups. Not hard to imagination he legit regrets his choice.
I doubt that highly. Playing for Viet Nam must be a lot of travel to get the crap kicked out of you. Remember he was born in the USA and 9 caps isn't nothing!!
Well, it also begs the question: did he get more money in MLS and Vietnam as a USMNTer? Did he get A LOT more money in Vietnam as a USMNTer? I seem to remember him on more money there than in the States, and having played in the Boston and LA areas, undoubtedly on a lower cost of higher quality living. And travel would've been grueling, but he also would've played big, meaningful games from Syria to Japan to Australia. Even with injuries he could've had 40 or 50 caps, been on the cover of every magazine and on every commercial in Vietnam. It would've been interesting to see where his career went if he'd chosen another way. Justin Merem is an obvious analog and he has 33 caps for a much stronger Iran side...
I hear ya but he is an American kid who got 9 caps. That’s not crap. I doubt he feels any regrets. Personally I think he should have been capped more. He was a damn good player!
Well, the first time he went to Vietnam was when an MLS 6-figure guaranteed compensation salary was a pretty BFD rather than normal. He wouldn't have earned much more in salary in Vietnam, but the sponsorship income was considerable - a son of emigrants and two-time Dutch league and Cup Champion who's played for the USA choosing to play in his ancestral homeland is a PR manager's wet dream. The cost of living in Boston and LA is high, but a $500k salary goes a long way, even in those places, and the high sponsorship income in Vietnam would have strengthened his hand considerably when he started negotiating with MLS back in 2011
Scores in friendly: https://thanhnien.vn/the-thao/bong-...u-mo-giup-tphcm-thang-binh-duong-130564t.html
Scored the game-winning PK: 34 yr old former 🇺🇸MNT midfielder, Lee Nguyen, scored this 99th minute match winning penalty today for HCMCFC in the Vietnamese top tier! ⚽️ https://t.co/9SYHNQ7A4T— 🇺🇸 ⚽ east (@eastdeflection) March 19, 2021