Đinh Thanh Trung (born 24 January 1988) is a Vietnamese former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who mainly played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or winger. Trung appeared 28 times and scored 2 goals for Vietnam national team between 2010 and 2018, taking part in three

AFF Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

s. After leading Quảng Nam to the 2017 V.League 1 title, Trung was awarded the Vietnamese Golden Ball. In May 2024, Trung was arrested for illegal drug use in Hà Tĩnh and was later sentenced to four years and six months in prison.

Early career

Born in Hà Tĩnh, Trung started his career at his local club Hà Tĩnh, joining the team when he was 10 years old. In 2007, following a friendly game between the youth side of Hà Tĩnh and Hòa Phát Hà Nội, Trung's performance impressed the staffs of the Hòa Phát Hà Nội, leading in his signing to the club shortly after.

Club career

Debut at Hòa Phát Hà Nội, then move to Hà Nội ACB

With Hòa Phát Hà Nội, Trung emerged as one of the rising stars of Vietnamese football. After 86 appearances for the club, he netted 29 goals, with several goals from free kick or long range shots. In 2011, the club merged with Hà Nội ACB, resulting in Trung's move to the club. In January 2012, he was released from Hà Nội ACB after an internal conflict in where he refused to play for the club in an league game.

Quảng Nam

In 2013, Trung joined V.League 2 side Quảng Nam. In his first season with the club, he finished as the league's joint top scorer with 10 goals scored, leading Quảng Nam to win the 2013 V.League 2 and promote to the V.League 1 for the first time in the team's history. He was then named team captain and played a crucial role at helping team won their first V.League 1 title in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

in their fourth season at V.League 1. His contribution in Quảng Nam's historic achievement lead him winning the Vietnamese Golden Ball in 2017. He left the club in the end of the 2021 season, after 9 years, having scored 80 goals after 213 matches.

Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh

In 2022, Trung signed for the club of his hometown Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh and was appointed as the team captain.

International career

Trung received his first called up to the Vietnam national team for the 2010 AFF Championship. He made his international debut while coming on as a substitute in a 7–1 win over

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

in the opening match of the tournament. Four years later, he participated in his second AFF Championship, under the guidance of coach Toshiya Miura. In 2016, at the AYA Bank Cup final against

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, he scored in the extra time to help Vietnam win 3–0, which was also his first goal for the national team. At the

2016 AFF Championship The 2016 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and officially known as the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016, was the 11th edition of the AFF Championship, the Association football, football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation ...

, Trung appeared in 5 matches, as the team reached the semi-finals before losing 3–4 on aggregate to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. After the tournament, Thanh Trung was named as the new captain of Vietnam national team following the retirement of

Lê Công Vinh Lê Công Vinh (born 10 December 1985) is a Vietnamese former Association football, footballer who played as a forward. He was part of the Vietnam national football team, Vietnam national team between 2004 and 2016, and played predominantly as ...

. In October 2018, Trung was named in the preliminary squad for the

2018 AFF Championship The 2018 AFF Championship was the 12th edition of the AFF Championship, the Association football, football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and the 6th under the name AFF Suzuki Cup. This was the first t ...

but he did not make the final cut. This decision lead Trung to announce his retirement from international football.

Arrest and sentence

On 4 May 2024, Trung and four other teammates at Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh were arrested in a hotel in Hà Tĩnh on drug-related charges. The

Vietnam Football Federation The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF; ) is the governing body of football in Vietnam. It is responsible for the all Vietnamese teams of association football, futsal and beach soccer as well as national competitions. VFF is currently a member of ...

immediately suspended these players from all football activities and Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh also removed them from the squad. In the trial held on 27 August 2024, the People's Court of Hà Tĩnh sentenced Trung to 4 years and 6 months in prison for organizing illegal use of drugs.

Career statistics

International

Vietnam U23

Vietnam

:''Scores and results list Vietnam's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

Quảng Nam * V.League 2: : Winners:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

* V.League 1: : Winners:

Vietnamese Super Cup Vietnamese National Football Super Cup (), also called the Thaco National Football Super Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is Vietnamese football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous V.League 1 season and the holders of th ...

: : Winners: 2017

Individuals

* V.League 2 top scorer:

* V.League 1 Team of the year:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

* V.League 1 Best player:

* Vietnamese Golden Ball: 2017

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinh, Thanh Trung 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Hà Tĩnh province Men's association football midfielders Vietnamese men's footballers Vietnam men's international footballers V.League 1 players V.League 2 players Hong Linh Ha Tinh FC players Quang Nam FC players Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Vietnam Vietnamese sportspeople convicted of crimes 21st-century Vietnamese sportsmen