When he signed a three-year deal with V. League’s Hanoi Police Football Club, the 31-year-old goalkeeper brought his wife and son to settle in Vietnam.
It is estimated that his transfer value was around 700,000 euros (around $763,000), the highest transfer value in the division.
Filip’s spouse is a woman of Vietnamese heritage named Aneta Nguyen. The couple first met at a gym in 2016, and Filip fell for her the moment their glances met.
Aneta was impressed with Filip’s height. Filip kept his job as a goalkeeper a secret for a while after he and Aneta started hanging out, and all Aneta knew about his job was that he was working in the town of Vlasim, where she was born and raised.
As time passed by and they started to be more comfortable around each other, Aneta asked Filip what he was doing for a living and Filip told her he was a footballer.
“Aneta is my partner, not only in my private life but also in my career,” the goalkeeper once said of his spouse. “When we were quarantined due to the pandemic, she helped me train at home to maintain my performance.”
He said that he started planning to play for a Vietnamese club a long time ago, as he wanted his son to bond with Vietnam.
Born to a Vietnamese father and a Czech mother, Filip graduated from Sparta Prague’s youth football academy and played for the club before moving to other domestic clubs including Bydzov, Vlasim, Slova Liberec, and Slovacko.
He was voted the best keeper in the Czech First League in the 2018-19 season.
He was once called up for the Czech Republic national team during their preparation for their 2022 World Cup campaign, but did not get a chance to play, and so remains eligible to play for Vietnam.
During his contract signing ceremony with Hanoi Police Football Club on June 30, he said his aims were to perform well and be called up for the Vietnamese national team.
