Vietnamese-American footballer Lee Nguyen, who played for the US national squad in 2007 as substitutes, is applying for Vietnamese citizenship to be eligible to play in the Vietnamese national team.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who is working for Binh Duong FC, told Tuoi Tre that filing for Vietnam naturalization is an initial move aimed at being called into the Vietnamese national football team in the future.
“It is his legitimate aspirations and so, we will offer him legal support to attain the status,” said Binh Duong club’s general director Doan Van Ut.
Nguyen almost rose to stardom after returning to play for Vietnam’s top-flight V-League club Hoang Anh Gia Lai in 2009 and scored 12 goals from his 24 appearances.
He had appeared in the US side as substitutes to play against Paraguay and Colombia at the 2007 Copa America and staged a friendly match with China, but scored none.
According to FIFA regulation, a player who joins the national team of a country from the starting line-up and plays no more than three games is still permitted to play for other national team.
Thus, the plan of Lee Nguyen to play for Vietnam is still within his reach if he is granted citizenship and selected by head coach of Vietnam, according to Vietnam’s football governing body – VFF general secretary Tran Quoc Tuan.
