Fans hope Đình Bắc will drink beer only once or twice a year

A widely circulated video of Vietnamese football star Nguyễn Đình Bắc enthusiastically clinking glasses at a party has reopened a familiar argument: how much freedom should professional athletes have to drink alcohol?

Tuổi Trẻ readers offered a range of reactions after an earlier article on the subject. Some said a player remains an ordinary person with ordinary needs, provided he breaks no law and violates no medical or coaching restriction. Others argued that an occasional beer after competition or at a family gathering should not become a public scandal.

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A footballer is also a human being, so sometimes he needs to relax and have a little fun.

Several readers said the real issue was moderation. One described drinking a few beers for a celebration as normal, while another wrote that “drinking beer is not the problem; how you drink is what matters.” Others urged people to follow Đình Bắc on the pitch and leave his private life alone, unless alcohol became his daily source of enjoyment or began to interfere with training.

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Drinking beer is not the problem; how you drink is what matters.

The opposing view focused on the demands of elite sport and Đình Bắc’s status as a public idol. Readers said alcohol can become a habit and may affect physical performance at moments requiring maximum effort, even if the effects are not immediately visible. They pointed to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as examples of players known for strict routines and avoiding alcohol, as well as carbonated drinks.

The debate has left fans hoping Đình Bắc will keep beer to “once or twice a year”, while disagreeing over whether the video showed a harmless private moment or behavior a high-profile athlete should avoid.

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The issue is not how much he drinks or what his health is like. What matters is that he knows he is a public idol and avoids sensitive behavior like this.