Phạm Văn Quyến (born April 29, 1984) is a retired Vietnamesefootballer. 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 Lê Huỳnh Đức. Quyến is known for his pace, dribbling ability and shot accuracy and was also a free kick specialist.[2]
International career
In 2000, Phạm Văn Quyến was called up to the U-16 national team.[3][4] At the end of the tournament, Văn Quyến scored three goals.[5] A year later, he became the youngest player to be named to the U-23 national team in preparation for the SEA Games, but he was soon released due to disciplinary issues.[6][7]
Early in 2002, Văn Quyến joined the Vietnam U-20 team to participate in the Southeast Asian U-20 Championship held in Thailand and Cambodia.[8][9] Later, Văn Quyến was called up to the national U-20 team for the U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers[10] and won a ticket to the finals in Qatar. However, Quyến's goals against China (2)[11] and Syria (1)[12] were not enough to help Vietnam reach the quarterfinals. In the same year, he was named in the Vietnam Olympic team to participate in the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.[13][14] He made his first official appearance for the Vietnam national team against Cambodia, where he scored one goal in the 9-2 win over their neighbors,[15] helping the Vietnam team win the bronze medal later.[16]
In 2003, Văn Quyến played in the 2004 Summer Olympics qualification round and scored the only goal for the Vietnam Olympic team in the 1-3 loss to Iraq Olympic in the first leg,[17] before drawing 1-1 in the second leg.[18] In the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam Football Federation sent the U-23 team to compete as the senior national team to prepare for the 22nd SEA Games. Here, Văn Quyến scored the goal of his career against the South Korea national team in the historic victory of the Vietnam team in Oman on October 19, 2003.[19]
In 2005, Phạm Văn Quyến continued to join the Vietnam U-23 team to participate in the 23rd SEA Games in the Philippines.[20] In 2010, he was called back to the senior national team by coach Henrique Calisto to prepare for the 1000th Anniversary of Thăng Long - Hanoi Football Cup.[21] But after just two training sessions with the team, Văn Quyến's ankle injury recurred and was diagnosed as requiring 6 months to recover, meaning he missed the opportunity to participate in this tournament and the 2010 AFF Cup.[22]
Coaching career
After retiring, Van Quyen graduated with a C-level head coach certificate from the Asian Football Confederation[23][24] and was assigned to coach the youth teams of Sông Lam Nghệ An.[25][26]
In 2018, Quyến was appointed as assistant coach to Phan Tiến Hoài, the head coach of the U-11 Sông Lam Nghệ An.[27] In 2019, he served as assistant coach to his former teammate Phan Như Thuật, the head coach of the U-15 Sông Lam Nghệ An.[28] In 2020, he and coach Lê Kỳ Phương led the U-17 Sông Lam Nghệ An team.[29] In these three years, the youth teams of Sông Lam Nghệ An have all achieved success with national championships.[30]
In June 2021, Van Quyen became the assistant to head coach Nguyen Huy Hoang, leading Song Lam Nghe An in the V.League 2021.[31][32]
Controversy
Phạm Quyến was a part of the Vietnamese U-23 team at the SEA Games 23 in the Philippines. He and several players of the team were arrested for alleged gambling and match-fixing scandals.[33] In January, 2007, it was decided that Quyến would be sentenced to 2 years in prison, ending his hope of becoming a star player. Also, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) decided to ban him from all domestic competition for four years. However, it is rumoured that he can return as soon as 2008, if he shows good progress during the banning period. Since the start of V-League 2009, Quyến was able to play in domestic matches.
