Polish-Vietnamese player immediately impresses Coach Kim Sang Sik

Vietnamese-Polish midfielder Damian Vũ Thành An scored for Viettel on the very day Coach Kim Sang Sik attended the match.

Viettel recently delivered an outstanding 3-0 victory over Ho Chi Minh City Police in the second round of the 2025/2026 V-League season. The spotlight was on the impressive performance of Polish-Vietnamese player Damian Vũ Thành An. Almost on his first touch in his debut for Viettel, the midfielder shone by scoring a goal.

Although his primary position is defensive midfielder, Coach Popov decided to push Damian Vũ Thành An higher up the field when he was substituted on in the 81st minute for foreign player Pedro Henrique. Taking advantage of the visitors’ lackluster defense, Damian sprinted forward, stole the ball right in front of the defender and goalkeeper of Ho Chi Minh City Police, and finished into an open net.

With impressive physique and speed, along with the ability to capitalize on opportunities and play multiple positions, Damian Vũ Thành An showed his strengths clearly during the last 10 minutes on the pitch. Born in 2003, the Polish-Vietnamese midfielder made a strong individual impact right from his first play.

Notably, this match featured the presence of Coach Kim Sang Sik. The Korean strategist recently returned to Vietnam and chose the Viettel vs. Ho Chi Minh City Police match as his first game to watch. Damian Vũ Thành An might have been lucky to shine on the same day Coach Kim Sang Sik appeared.

Certainly, Damian Vũ Thành An’s performance likely impressed Coach Kim Sang Sik. Naturally, the Polish-Vietnamese midfielder cannot be immediately called up to the Vietnam U23 team in September due to citizenship issues, but if he completes the paperwork soon, Damian Vũ Thành An is a very promising candidate for SEA Games 33 at the end of the year.

After the match, Viettel’s Coach Popov also praised the player: “Damian fulfilled his duties very well when he came on. I don’t want to single out individuals; the most important thing is that the whole team played cohesively and scored goals. However, we still need to improve our finishing."