2018 was a special year for Đỗ Duy Mạnh and many of his Vietnam counterparts.
It started with a remarkable run to the final of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, included an equally-impressive fourth-place finish at the Asian Games and culminated with an ASEAN Championship triumph in December.
By the time those 12 months of success had ended, Duy Mạnh was still only 22.
It was to be the beginning of Vietnamese football's glorious era under Park Hang-Seo, coinciding with a golden generation of talent coming through in the form of not just Duy Mạnh but other such as Nguyễn Quang Hải, Vũ Văn Thanh and Nguyễn Văn Toàn to name but a few.
Vietnam certainly went on to achieve more under Park.
They would reach the quarterfinals of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and were the only Southeast Asian team to reach the third and final round of Asian qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Yet, they did not quite become the dominant force in the region as expected.
By 2021, Thailand had reclaimed the ASEAN Championship and would go on to successfully defend their crown two years ago.
Having tasted success previously, Duy Mạnh then had a dose of disappointment being part of the side to lose to the Thais in the 2022 final.
At present, Vietnam are on the verge of reaching yet another regional decider.
A 2-0 first-leg win away to Singapore in the last four on Thursday has seen them put one foot in this year's final ahead of the return encounter in Việt Trì.
Vietnam are firm favourites to get the job done on Saturday, and Duy Mạnh admits the desire to taste the ultimate success once again is burning bright.
"Of course, we want to try to have a good tournament," he told ESPN on Thursday, after being named Player of the Match in the win over Singapore despite only coming on as a halftime substitute.
"Having been champions in 2018, we want to do it again this year. But we still need to get through the second leg in Vietnam.
"We will have to maintain our concentration. Nothing will come easy.
"I hope all the Vietnam supporters will come to the stadium to give more energy to our team."
Vietnam are currently writing the opening lines of a new chapter under another South Korean coach in Kim Sang-Sik.
Filling the shoes of Park was never going to be an easy task and even a famous coach such as Philippe Troussier struggled -- having lasted just over a year before leaving the job in March to pave the way for Kim's appointment.
Kim has previously stated his goal -- in his first major assignment in the role -- is to go all the way in the ASEAN Championship.
He does arguably boast the strongest squad in the competition given others such as Thailand and Indonesia have had to do without numerous key players due to club commitments.
But Kim has also shown his tactical acumen, especially in the way his team got the result in what proved to be a tougher-than-expected opening meeting with Singapore.
"We followed the tactics and strategy of the coach," said Duy Mạnh, when asked about how the team eventually grinded out the victory over the Lions.
"I think it was a really hard game but we were able to overcome the difficult moments.
"It was a good result for the team."
Duy Mạnh's introduction at halftime helped steady a Vietnam backline that initially looked slightly shaky.
For the second match running, Kim opted for Nguyễn Đình Triệu in goal rather than previous starter Filip Nguyen.
Đình Triệu looked susceptible in aerial situations but did produce a stunning save midway through the second half to prevent Singapore from taking the lead.
It remains to be seen if Kim will make a change for Saturday, although he did state: "I think [he] definitely has room for improvement but we didn't concede, so I'm very satisfied.
"He made some very good punches but there were also some mistakes. Mistakes are bound to happen -- there's no perfect player, so I think he did an excellent job.
"I think we can continue working with him with our goalkeeping coach [South Korea's 2002 World Cup hero] Lee Woon-Jae.
"Overall, in terms of our defending, I'm satisfied we didn't concede to Singapore because they are strong offensively with their long balls. The players didn't lose their concentration to the end and that's why we were able to keep the clean sheet."