Nguyễn Đình Bắc

Nguyễn Đình Bắc (born 19 August 2004) is a Vietnamese professional footballer who plays as a left winger or a striker for V.League 1 club Quảng Nam, and the Vietnam national team.

Early career
Born in Nghệ An, Đình Bắc was a member of the Sông Lam Nghệ An youth academy. However, he was released by the team in 2018 due to unsatisfactory physical condition with his height being only 1.50 m. In 2019, he followed his parents and moved to Quảng Nam province. Here, he joined the youth academy of Quảng Nam.

Quảng Nam
Đình Bắc made his senior debut for Quang Nam's reserve side in the 2022 Vietnamese Second League. In the match against SHB Đà Nẵng's reserve, he showed disrespectful behavior towards the referee and was consequently suspended for three games by the Vietnam Football Federation. Despite missing a few games, he scored a total of 6 goals during the season and helped his team finished 4th in their group.

In the second half of the 2022 V.League 2 season, Đình Bắc was promoted to the senior team but didn't make any appearance. He made his first team debut on 1 April 2023 in his Quảng Nam's Vietnamese Cup game against his hometown club Sông Lam Nghệ An. Đình Bắc played full 90 minutes and scored in the penalty-shootout, winning 4–3 for his team after the game was tied 1–1. On 22 July 2023, he scored his first V.League 2 goal against PVF-CAND in a 2–0 win. A month after, he scored the first haul in his career in Quảng Nam's 7–1 V.League 2 win against Bình Thuận. After 12 matches, Đình Bắc had 8 goals and 7 assists making him the second highest goal scorer of the team during the season, as his team was crowned as V.League 2 champion. Đình Bắc was also given the V.League 2 "Player of the season" award, therefore became the youngest player to win it.

On 2 December 2023, he scored his first V.League 1 goal from a penalty kick in a 4–4 draw against his hometown club Sông Lam Nghệ An. On 21 February 2024, Quảng Nam's head coach Văn Sỹ Sơn announced that Đình Bắc would be suspended by the club and sent to train with the youth team due to repeated violations of discipline. Đình Bắc later publicly apologized for his behavior and was ruled out of Quảng Nam's squad for three league games in a row. He made his return on 4 March 2024 in Quảng Nam's 1–1 draw against Quy Nhơn Bình Định.

Collapsed loan deal to Hanoi FC
On 9 March 2024, Hanoi FC announced the signing of Nguyễn Đình Bắc from Quảng Nam on loan with a duration of 1.5 years. Despite the Hanoi FC's announcement of his signature, Đình Bắc had not signed a contract with the club. On 13 March, the deal eventually collapsed as both sides failed to find a common agreement.

Youth
In 2022, Đình Bắc participated in the 2022 AFF U-19 Youth Championship with Vietnam under 19s as they finished in the third place.

In the following year, he was named in Vietnam U20 squad for the 2023 AFC U-20 Championship and played in two group stage matches before Vietnam was eliminated.

Senior
In October 2023, Đình Bắc received his first call up to the Vietnam national team. He made his international debut on 10 October 2023, in Vietnam's 0–2 defeat against China, thus making him the first 2004 born player to appear for his national team. On 16 November 2023, he scored his first goal for national team in a 2–0 win over Philippines as part of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.

In January 2024, Đình Bắc was selected by coach Philippe Troussier in Vietnam's 26-men squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and was the youngest member of the squad. He scored Vietnam's first goal of the tournament in the team's 4–2 loss to Japan on 14 January.

Playing style
Đình Bắc is a versatile player who can play well as a winger, as a striker, as well as an attacking midfielder. These capacities allow him to operate both as a goalscorer and a playmaker. His fast, technical and energetic dribbling ability, as well as his agility in close spaces made him a major offensive threat. He also possesses strength in his hamstrings and quads, allowing him to remain balanced after physical challenges and make breakthrough runs past the opponent. His playing style similars Đinh Thanh Trung, who won the 2017 Vietnamese Golden Ball.

International

 * Scores and results list Vietnam's goal tally first.

Honours
Quảng Nam Vietnam U19 Individual
 * V.League 2: 2023
 * International Thanh Niên Newspaper Cup: 2022
 * V.League 2 Player of the Year: 2023