Saigon, 5 PM. A 14-year-old boy with worn-out shoes still diligently dribbles past plastic cones on a concrete pitch amid Binh Tay market. The ball hugs the ground, brushing every grain of sand. I stood at a distance, taking notes. That was March 2026, the first time I saw Nguyen Van A, one of the talents that Nutifood's youth academy is nurturing.

Context: From concrete pitch to academy

Nguyen Van A was born in 2026 in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City. His father is a factory worker, his mother sells noodle soup. Like many other children on the outskirts, A started playing football in spontaneous matches on vacant lots. Nutifood Academy discovered him in 2026, after a grassroots U13 tournament in Binh Thanh District.

Nutifood Academy is currently one of the three best youth training centers in Vietnam, along with PVF and HAGL. With a focus on combining nutrition and European techniques, Nutifood has produced players like Nguyen Duc Viet and Nguyen Van Truong, who now play in V.League. But every generation has its special ones, and to me, Van A is one of them.

Technical analysis: A meticulous creator

Van A plays as a central midfielder, wearing number 8 – a position I still call the silent heart of the team. In a recent friendly between U15 Nutifood and U15 PVF, I recorded 70+ passes, 58 of which were sideways or backward. Many would see that as a sign of a safe, unadventurous player. But I saw something else.

He reads the game with his feet, not his eyes.

Van A's attacking transitions do not come from 40-meter diagonal balls, but from subtle body turns and one-touch passes that stretch the opponent's defense. In the 2026 season at the National U15 Championship, he had 12 assists – but not final assists. Those are pre-assists, the ones that don't appear on the stats sheet but decide the rhythm of the entire match.

Physically, Van A is not outstanding: 1m63 at 14, 52kg. But his individual technique is impressive. His ball retention in tight spaces allows him to escape pressure even when surrounded by three opponents. In the match against PVF, he completed 9 successful dribbles, the highest on the team, despite only 14 touches in the final third.

Remarkably, his tactical awareness: Van A frequently drops deep to receive the ball from center-backs, forming triangles with full-backs and the holding midfielder. This is a trademark of Pep Guardiola, but at U15 Vietnam level, it is rare to the point of strangeness. Coach Nguyen Van B of Nutifood told me: 'We didn't teach A that. He learned it by watching Manchester City games on YouTube.'

Contrarian view: The risk of early development

But I am not here to hype a prodigy. I have seen too many cases – boys of 14-15 called the new Messi then vanish within 5 years. Nguyen Van A has underlying weaknesses that worry me.

First, over-reliance on one foot. Van A is right-footed, and in the 120 minutes I observed, he used his left foot only 8 times – mostly simple touches. At higher levels, defenders will quickly pick that up and force him into difficulty.

Second, physical intensity. In the second half against PVF, Van A showed signs of fading after the 70th minute – his pass accuracy dropped from 92% to 78%. This suggests insufficient stamina for 90 minutes at high intensity. Moving to U17, he will face much bigger and stronger opponents.

Third, and most critically, the development environment. Nutifood's youth system is only 7 years old. They lack experience in transitioning players from academy to the first team. Compared to PVF – which produced Nguyen Van Tung, Nguyen Thanh Binh – Nutifood is still in a testing stage. Van A is a precious seed, but the soil it is planted in remains uncertain.

Takeaway: Waiting for a season of maturity

I am old, so I am patient enough to wait for a season to mature. Nguyen Van A will not be a star at 15, 16, or 17. He may be forgotten if he doesn't build physical strength, improve his left foot, and find a proper professional environment. But if all conditions are met, I believe he will be the metronome of a new generation of Vietnamese football – not with beautiful goals, but with the silent rhythm of a heart that knows how to beat at the right tempo.

'Under the urban dust, I still find gems no one has yet noticed.' Van A is a rough diamond. And the job of football people is not to polish it too early, so that when the time comes, it shines on its own.