Van Toan wears number 9 in Seoul E-Land

Van Toan used to wear this shirt number eight seasons ago with HAGL and the Vietnamese team. Although Seoul E-Land owns Brazilian strikers such as Ronan David and Renan Peixoto Nepomuceno, the number 9 is still given to Vietnamese players.

Van Toan is one of five Southeast Asian players playing in the K-League, all in second place, alongside Vu Minh Hieu, Nguyen Canh Anh (Cheonan City), Kogileswaran Raj (Chungbuk Cheongju) and Asnawi Mangkualam (Jeonnam Dragons). .

Asnawi is the only player out of the five to have had K-League 2 experience, for Ansan Greeners two seasons ago. The Indonesian defender has played 40 matches in this tournament, scoring twice, and he wants to pass on his experience to Van Toan and other Southeast Asian players. "If I have time, I would like to meet the Southeast Asian players," Asnawi said on February 16. "On the field, we are rivals, but in real life I want to consider them as family. I will try my best to help you guys go forward."

If Minh Hieu and Canh Anh are playing for Cheonan on loan from HAGL, Van Toan, Raj and Asnawi are all on the official payroll of Korean clubs.

K-League 2 2023 consists of 13 teams, kicking in a circle three times, ie each team plays 36 matches, from 1/3 to 2/12. The top team will play in K-League 1. The remaining four teams in the Top 5 will choose two teams to compete for tickets with the last two teams in K-League 1. Seoul E-Land has played nine seasons in the K-League 1. K-League 2 but never promoted.

Seoul E-Land will play the first match of the new season against Chungbuk Cheongju on March 1. Among Van Toan's teammates, there is a Korean player, midfielder Lee Jae-ik. Leading the team is former Hanoi coach Park Choong-kyun - and a former assistant to the Vietnam team.