Nguyen played for the U.S. at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, and was noticed by famed Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, then at PSV Eindhoven. Nguyen signed for PSV (joining fellow American DaMarcus Beasley) and Hiddink groomed the youngster to play wing in his attack-minded 4-3-3 system. At PSV he put Lee (and not Nguyen) on the back of his Jersey because previously there was a Lee, Lee Young-Pyo, from South Korea that played on PSV. The name Lee is more recognizable with the fans, and every time Nguyen touched the ball, fans would scream "Lee!"
He made one appearance in the Eredivisie in 2006. Hiddink then left the club to coach the Russian national team and was replaced by Ronald Koeman, who preferred other options and demoted Nguyen to the reserve squad. Nguyen performed well for Young PSV but continued to struggle to get looks with the first team and began considering offers elsewhere.
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