Phuc, who has accrued a sizeable following among fans on social media, including TikTok, has become the first ever Vietnamese freestyle footballer to showcase his skills at an official LaLiga match.
The performance was orchestrated by LaLiga and Deportivo Alaves, who invited a total of 16 TikTok content creators from Asia-Pacific countries to attend Sunday’s game at Alaves’s Mendizorrotza Stadium.
Phuc was the only content creator among them to deliver a performance.
Wearing an áo bà ba, a traditional garment of people in southern Vietnam, a nón lá, or Vietnamese conical hat, and the Vietnamese national flag, Phuc seamlessly incorporated these elements into his artistic football showcase.
To prepare for his gig, Phuc had a session to get familiar with the field and rehearse the music a day before, according to The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports and Culture) newspaper.
Initially, he encountered concerns because the field was affected by strong winds and cold weather, causing his chosen conical hat prop to blow away.
To counter this, the Vietnamese athlete opted for slower movements and carefully calculated the wind direction each time he performed moves involving the hat.
On match day, Phuc was seated in a prominent spot in the stands during the first half.
In the 40th minute, he was invited down to the tunnel to prepare for his field entrance.
As the first half concluded, he entered the stadium while donning the Vietnamese national flag to the cheers of the fans.
“The moment I stepped into Mendizorrotza Stadium gave me goosebumps,” Phuc told The Thao & Van Hoa.
“I have been eagerly looking forward to this moment for a long time.
“Holding our national flag and performing in Spain filled me with immense pride.
“Witnessing thousands of spectators applauding, I silently expressed gratitude that my dream, from the very first day I embarked on my freestyle football journey, had finally come true.”
During his performance, Phuc embodied a farmer adorned with a conical hat, accompanied by the song ‘Tien Len Viet Nam Oi!’ (Go, Vietnam!) by Vietnamese singer Son Tung M-TP.
He debuted a signature move coined ‘Around Vietnam,’ a challenging maneuver that demands the performer to maintain balance while circling the ball around the hat.
The audience at the stadium reacted with surprise and enthusiasm to the half-time performance by the Vietnamese footballer.
After his performance, Phuc graciously gifted another conical hat decorated with images of the Vietnamese and Spanish national flags, as well as the logo of Deportivo Alaves, to a young fan at the stadium.
As Phuc returned to the tunnel, he seized the moment to greet and shake hands with his beloved football idol, Antoine Griezmann, who plays for Atletico Madrid.
In Sunday’s match, Deportivo Alaves, enjoying home field advantage, emerged victorious over Atletico Madrid with a score of 2-0.
Carlos Benavidez and Luis Rioja secured the goals in the 15th and 90+2 minutes, respectively.
After the game, in addition to praising Phuc’s performance, Deportivo Alaves fans also expressed gratitude to him for seemingly bringing good luck to the team, The Thao & Van Hoa reported.
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