Đình Bắc stands on a golden opportunity to make history in the Vietnamese Golden Ball awards.

Đình Bắc is presented with a special opportunity to be recorded in the annals of the Vietnamese Golden Ball.

The history of the Vietnamese Golden Ball shows that very few players have won the award at such a young age. The youngest winner to date remains Lê Công Vinh, who claimed the Golden Ball in 2004 at 19 years, 3 months, and 5 days old. A year earlier, Phạm Văn Quyến also made history by winning the award at 19 years, 10 months, and 4 days. These two names are still regarded as extraordinary phenomena in Vietnamese football.

If he wins the 2025 Golden Ball at 21 years, 4 months, and 5 days old, Đình Bắc will not surpass Công Vinh or Văn Quyến in terms of age records. However, he will be among the five youngest players ever to win the Vietnamese Golden Ball, standing alongside notable predecessors like Phạm Thành Lương (21 years, 8 months) and Nguyễn Quang Hải (21 years, 8 months, and 22 days).

What’s noteworthy is that the path Đình Bắc is taking in 2025 bears many similarities to those of his predecessors who reached the pinnacle. At the club level, the forward from Nghệ An plays a crucial role for Công an Hà Nội, scoring decisive goals that helped the team win the National Super Cup and the 2024/25 National Cup, while also becoming a key player in the V-League and AFC Champions League Two. Excelling both domestically and on the continental stage has been a key factor that helped Công Vinh and Quang Hải gain strong recognition in previous voting seasons.

At the national team level, Đình Bắc’s impact is even more pronounced. Born in 2004, he was honored as the Best Player of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, significantly contributing to U23 Vietnam’s third consecutive title. Furthermore, he played a vital role in helping U23 Vietnam qualify for the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup finals.

The highlight of 2025 for Đình Bắc came at the 33rd SEA Games, where he scored three goals, led the U22 Vietnam attack, and helped secure a historic gold medal on Thai soil. Very few young players in the history of the Vietnamese Golden Ball have been both a club cornerstone and the top star in youth tournaments within the same year.

Looking back at history, young Golden Ball winners usually combine three factors: outstanding team achievements, a clear personal role, and impact in major matches. Công Vinh had the V-League and National Cup, Văn Quyến had the SEA Games and Asian Cup, Quang Hải had the AFF Cup and U23 Asian Cup.The 2025 Đình Bắc fully embodies these criteria with domestic titles, SEA Games glory, the U23 Southeast Asian Championship, and notable performances on the continental stage.