Now Cabra matters to Vietnam United
Today the 27-year-old is a different person. Trouble free, he has a full-time job as a metal worker. In his words, he is a "changed man".
He puts it down to Vietnam United, a soccer team formed in Cabramatta in a bid to keep youths away from drugs and help reform people such as Cuong Tran.
Vietnam United is the brainchild of 40-year-old Cabramatta resident Hung Tran. He believes it will help motivate Cabramatta residents, stop them from gambling and turn them away from crime and drugs.
"Cabramatta has a bad name. Young people here are lost - they see so much disappointment all around them. We have to show them they have a future," Mr Tran said.
"We meet three times a week so they are not hanging around the streets. As well as keeping them fit, this will help them to avoid gambling, drugs and crime - it will help them see a future for themselves. It will give them motivation."
The soccer team will also help people with a past, like Cuong Tran.
"Cuong had trouble with the police. He was a very bad boy. But now he is a changed person and he thinks the soccer has helped to make him a better person. He is fit, healthy, eating well and sleeping well," Mr Tran said.
"At the beginning he would stand and watch us play and one day I invited him to join in. He began to show up more and more regularly.
"I took him aside one day and spoke to him about his future, told him he had a future ahead of him. I asked him what would he do if he wanted to get married. He is a good person now."
Father-of-one Mr Tran is more than just a coach and trainer - he is also a general adviser to the team.
"I'm here three nights a week from 5pm to 9pm," he said. "People can come along and play soccer or they can talk to someone older about life. We hope more and more young people will come. I will be here.
"Many people on the team have no problems - they just come along to play soccer. But we have some people who have had drug problems or have had run-ins with the police. We show them there is a right way and a wrong way.
"We don't ask them about their past, we help them to move on and forget."
He believes the team will provide friendship and support, as well as a sense of team spirit.
Anyone from any nationality is welcome to join the team.
"It means we might have to change the name," Mr Tran said. "I chose Vietnam United because I hope this will unite the people of Cabramatta."
But it was a struggle to make his dream a reality. It has taken the team six months to find a ground where they can practise because of a shortage of sporting facilities.
The only field they could find was in neighbouring Lansvale and this was after they had asked Fairfield councillor Thang Ngo to help.
"I was appalled that in all of Fairfield we couldn't find a soccer field for these people who are trying to doing something constructive," Mr Ngo said.
"When the team asked for my help, I hounded council staff until they found a field for them. Up to now they've been turning up at Cabramatta Sports Ground even though it was booked out. They would play until a team showed up."
Now Mr Ngo is criticising the lack of sporting facilities in Cabramatta. Council reports show that of the 27 suburbs in the Fairfield council area, Cabramatta has the second highest number of teenagers, 2,792, but only one basketball court and two soccer fields.
Fairfield Council has plans for a $13 million indoor youth facility with a pool and sports courts, but it is on hold due to a lack of funds.
The Sun-Herald, 29 April 2001