Van Hau joined the Eredivisie outfit in September last year under a one-year loan agreement from Hanoi. The 1999-born defender was expected to have a good opportunity to show his talents as one of the Vietnam’s best football players, as well as enjoy professional development in a European football environment. However, Van Hau only played four minutes for the first team in the Dutch Cup and mainly played for SC Heerenveen’s youth team.

Van Hau will leave Dutch side SC Heerenveen to return to Vietnam to play for his local club Hanoi FC.

Van Hau's contract with the Dutch team expired on June 30 and Hanoi FC insisted on renewing his contract for another season, if both sides found common ground in the negotiation process. However, the biggest obstacle to the deal was the salary issue. The Dutch club are reportedly struggling to pay the defender’s 450,000 euro-a-year salary because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Hanoi FC have confirmed that it would give its maximum support to help SC Heerenveen pay Van Hau’s salary and in return the Dutch side should make detailed plans to develop and use the Vietnamese defender next season.

As the reigning V.League champions and the Dutch side failed to reach agreement on extending the contract for Van Hau, the left-back will soon return home to play for Hanoi FC. This will be a necessary addition for Hanoi’s squad in the context of their suffering the severe loss of several key players due to injury.

Van Hau’s return makes a lot of sense for the club in this difficult period as we have lost several key players due to injury,” said Hanoi FC President Do Vinh Quang. “We are always ready to listen to other suggestions and create the maximum opportunity for Van Hau to play in a European football environment, but it has not been easy amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 epidemic,” Quang said.

“In addition, by the end of the year, the ASEAN Football Federation Championship (AFF Cup) will take place, and Van Hau’s return to the country to play and regain his form after a long absence due to the epidemic will be a significant boost for the Vietnamese national team,” the Hanoi FC president added.

Hanoi are reportedly seeking a flight to bring Van Hau home as soon as possible. The Thai Binh native will undergo isolation for 14 days as prescribed in the country’s Covid-19 preventive regulations, before reuniting with his teammates at Hanoi FC. After eight rounds of V.League 2020, Hanoi have surprisingly gained only 11 points and are temporarily ranked eighth, five points behind league leaders Saigon FC.

Vietnam defender among most followed Southeast Asian footballers on Instagram

24-year-old center-back Do Duy Manh is the 10th most popular Southeast Asian football players on Instagram.

Vietnam first in the world to resume normal football events

Nam Dinh FC and Hoang Anh Gia Lai met each other in the opening clash of the 2020 Vietnamese National Cup at Thien Truong Stadium (Nam Dinh province) on May 23, marking the official return of football events in the country after months of disruption due to Covid-19.

FIFA president lauds Vietnamese football for joint efforts in containing Covid-19

FIFA President Gianni Infantino sent a thank-you letter to President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Le Khanh Hai and Vietnamese football for their recent practical activities to join the country’s efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnamese football heads towards two major tasks in 2020

Despite Covid-19, the national football team are still heading towards two important goals during the remaining months of 2020 – reaching the third round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifications and defending their regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup title later this year.

EU football joins hands to give Vietnamese street kids a leg up

The UEFA and the Blue Dragon children’s foundations are teaming up to use football for giving Vietnamese street kids a leg up. 

Source: NDO