Local football broker Tran Tien Dai (L) with Vietnam’s national football team coach Henrique Calisto

Tran Tien Dai has earned a good reputation as a footballer broker in Vietnam since he finished his playing career.

In 2004, he decided to open a player brokerage business called Dai Nguyen. He had a pretty good command of English so he could go abroad and scout for players.

Recently he was in the public eye because of an ownership dispute over Nigerian striker Anjembe Timothy between Ninh Binh and Dong Thap.

He had brought Timothy at the start of this season to play for the second-tier First Division club Ninh Binh but the coach, Tran Minh Xuong, wasn’t satisfied with the new player and didn’t register Timothy with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

So Dai took Timothy to top-tier V-League Dong Thap in the Mekong Delta where the Nigerian striker signed a one-year contract.

Timothy was prominent in Dong Thap’s two consecutive wins at the beginning of the season; and Ninh Binh, who was struggling in the First Division, asked to have Timothy back for any cost but Dong Thap didn’t agree.

Ninh Binh club president Hoang Manh Truong said he would take the case to the authorities but the northern club didn’t have documents to prove Timothy was theirs while Dong Thap had a contract.

It was an uncomfortable situation for Dai, but he went to Dong Thap again to negotiate for Timothy’s return, but Dong Thap, who is now in third spot in the V-League, didn’t let the Nigerian go.

The loss somehow hurt the relationship between Truong and Dai.

Despite the Timothy dispute, nobody would deny Dai is a reliable local broker.

Several African players now playing in V-League or First Division were introduced by Dai.

Nigerian striker Maxwell Eyerakpo, for example, who is a favorite at Ninh Binh, has moved between several Vietnamese clubs with Dai’s help.

Dai’s company has helped Maxwell a lot and he is now married to one of the company employees, Nhu Mai, and has been given Vietnamese citizenship with the name Dinh Hoang Max.

Best success

Dai’s most successful introduction is the Ukrainian goalkeeper Lytovka Mykola to Ninh Binh. Mykola was transferred from Thanh Hoa for around VND3 billion (some US$168,600) and he has been solid between Ninh Binh’s posts.

The 1.90-meter-plus Ukrainian, who is now a Vietnamese citizen with the name Dinh Hoang La, was called on to join the national squad along with Max in May; and they both played big parts in the 1-0 friendly win over Greek champions Olympiakos in Hanoi in mid-May and a 1-0 friendly victory over Kuwait in Kuwait City early last month.

However, not all of his brokering deals have benefited Dai.

In October, 2007, Dai Nguyen introduced a Cameroonian, Francis Clement, to the Fourth Military Zone club. Clement died on the second day of his trial at the club during a warm-up.

The Fourth Military Zone Hospital said Clement had a congenital heart problem but he hadn’t had a medical test when he first arrived.

Dai Nguyen had to pay for his body to be returned but Clement hadn’t signed a contract with the club, so Dai didn’t have to pay compensation.

Three years ago, Dai took a license test with Féderation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to work as an agent but he failed. VFF is registered with FIFA.

Despite his lack of FIFA credentials, many local and foreign players depend on Dai when they want to move clubs as Dai’s company is good at negotiating deals.

He’s based in HCMC with his company but works in the north for Ninh Binh club so he constantly turns up all over the county. Clubs might get nervous about losing their stars when they see Dai but his presence on the football scene promotes competitiveness in clubs and improves the players’ salaries.

Reported by Lan Phuong