Mitoma and the admiration of Cong Phuong
"I have had the opportunity to go to Japan twice, joining Mito Hollyhock and Yokohama FC. During my time in Japan, I witnessed the development of football here.
In particular, schools in Japan are built according to a professional football environment: many sponsors accompany; tournaments for students not only meet quantity but also quality", striker Nguyen Cong Phuong shared when participating in a tournament for students in Ho Chi Minh City recently.
The striker born in 1995 mentioned Kaoru Mitoma, along with his admiration for Japanese school football - one of the foundations that created the success of the national team in particular and football in the land of the rising sun in general.
" Many Japanese professional players come from school. The most prominent of these is Kaoru Mitoma, currently playing for Brighton. In Vietnam, schools should also have teams with the participation of many sponsors. That will support and contribute to the development of Vietnamese football," said Cong Phuong.
Japan Football Lab has compiled statistics, in Japan's 2022 World Cup list, there are 11 players who have risen from the academies, 7 players who have grown up from high school and 8 others who have become famous at university.
The Japanese high school football tournament actually took place more than 100 years ago and the number of teams participating in the tournament increased every year.
At one point, more than 4,000 teams across Japan participated in the competition. Notably, students affirm that they will have the opportunity to be selected by J.League clubs in school tournaments.
For example, in the 2018 National High School Championship, 11 players have been signed by J.League teams. They are even capable of being selected by European teams without having to go through domestic professional tournaments such as J.League 1, 2.
A role model for Vietnamese football
Mitoma is not the only name in Japan to become famous after growing up from the school. A few years ago, Japan removed the bottleneck in the time-based salary system, and their competition experience was quite outdated. Thanks to that, young faces with potential are eligible for high treatment right from the first signing of the contract.
Invisibly, this promotes the departure of young Japanese talents abroad sooner. Rento Takaoka is a typical example.
At the age of 17, after growing up in the Nissho Gakuen high school shirt, Takaoka received an invitation from Southampton (Premier League). This deal helped Gakuen receive a large amount of training money, enough to help them develop their facilities and motivate them to train other potential players in the future.
The school football tournament system and the ambition to train talents of high schools and universities are what Vietnamese football is lacking.
It is not difficult to see that the "backbone" for national teams mostly comes from the academies of professional clubs. Adults from the primary school tournament (children's tournament) will immediately join the training "pants" of Song Lam Nghe An, PVF, Hanoi, Hoang Anh Gia Lai... And the connection point between school football and professional football in Vietnam will only stop like that.
One point that Vietnamese youth football also needs to change is the effectiveness of the U9 and U13 levels.
A famous former player once pointed out the conflict in the tournament of the children and teenagers compared to practical practice. It is instead of playing on the natural or outdoor grass, the children have to play in the opposition format 5 matches 5 at the indoor yard. Must go to the national U15 tournament, the new players fighting in the yard. Invisible, skill, tactics of young talents are narrowed.
In addition, when V.League is still looking for aging stars to attract on the pitch, J.League has given up that 20 years ago.
On the contrary, they spend a lot of money to invite foreign experts. Zico, Philippe Troussier, Dunga... came to Japan not to play football. With experience, thinking and class, they will join hands to develop the origin of the national championship as well as improve the level of the players.
Up to now, Japan is also one of the most successful teams in Asia in continental and world competitions.
