Le Hieu Thanh: "No matter where I go, Cantho Catfish will always be my second home"
Returning to the Can Tho multi-purpose stadium for the first time since 2019, Le Hieu Thanh could not hide his excitement and a little emotion.
Once the captain of Cantho Catfish and with the Western team for half a decade, Hieu Thanh is now standing on the other side of the front line in the Thang Long Warriors shirt.
“The feeling is very special. I feel very refreshed", Hieu Thanh said about the time when he first returned to Can Tho Multi-Purpose Power Plant.
“For many years of training and competing here, I remember all the memories from before and now, I miss my old teammates. And even the game-winner that year, remembering it makes me very emotional."
Exactly 4 years ago (August 31, 2019), it was Le Hieu Thanh who threw the buzzer-beater 3-pointer to bring victory to Cantho Catfish in Game 3 of the VBA Playoffs 2019 semi-final series.
Coincidentally and with a bit of irony, that day, Catfish "shot down" Thang Long Warriors, the team that Hieu Thanh is now playing for.
In this match, not only did Hieu Thanh change the battle line to the other side, but the Warriors also defeated Catfish with an almost similar 3-point shot.
Although not a buzzer-beater, Truong Hoang Trung's successful long throw in extra time sealed the victory for the Warriors, and also put an end to Cantho Catfish's season.
Sharing about the match, Hieu Thanh said: "Thanh thinks both Cantho Catfish and Thang Long Warriors played their best, contributing a very high quality match.
On my team's side, there are many players who are not very familiar with the field, so they still have a little difficulty, some situations are not handled properly. Hopefully the whole team will correct mistakes to move to the next stage."
“Last year the team only had five wins. This year the team won 11 games, which is great for the whole team. I hope that the team will continue the momentum from these wins, correct mistakes to advance to the Playoffs," added the defender wearing shirt number 65.
Even though he has been playing for Thang Long Warriors for 2 years, Le Hieu Thanh will definitely stop loving his old team.
Last season, when Cantho Catfish had to compete in Ho Chi Minh City, he spent time cheering at Tan Binh Stadium. This year, when directly confronting Catfish at the "old home", the former captain showed his absolute respect.
“Cantho Catfish has always been my second home. This is where I started my VBA career. To build myself into the person and player I am today is thanks to this land, so I always appreciate Cantho Catfish."
Le Hieu Thanh is a player from Ho Chi Minh City. He started playing VBA in 2017 for Cantho Catfish Club, then stuck with the Western team for 5 seasons.
Hieu Thanh's peak was when he and his teammates reached 3 consecutive VBA Finals series, winning the championship in the 2018 season with the best total win/loss record in history.
