No Vietnamese players playing abroad
After the season when Mr. Duc promoted them to play in V.League in 2015, some players from Hoang Anh Gia Lai Arsenal JMG Academy were able to play abroad. At that time, Mr. Duc jokingly said, "Hoang Anh Gia Lai has a daughter who is married. And all of them are married to foreigners, how terrible."
Bau Duc let Cong Phuong and Tuan Anh go to Japan to play in J.League 2 for two teams, Mito Hollyhock and Yokohama, respectively, while Xuan Truong joined Incheon United in Korea's top league.
But then these players were not successful, they had experience in many teams before returning to play in V.League. Cong Phuong continued to look for opportunities at Xuan Truong's old team, Incheon United, then went to Europe to play for Sint Truidense in Belgium. Yokohama is the team where Cong Phuong did not have any mark before joining the First Division team, Binh Phuoc.
Other players in the Vietnam national team such as Quang Hai, Van Hau, Dang Van Lam, Van Toan… also did not achieve success when playing abroad. Even though these are prominent names in Vietnamese football for nearly 10 years.
The event of Cong Phuong returning to Vietnam to play in the First Division also marked the absence of Vietnamese professional players playing abroad in the past decade. Going abroad was expected to open a new direction for Vietnamese players, but so far there has been no clear mark.
Specific options
Before Cong Phuong, players who went abroad also returned to the V.League to "save their careers". Even some of Phuong's former teammates won the V.League for the first time after leaving Hoang Anh Gia Lai.
Although not successful abroad, players like Tuan Anh, Van Toan, Quang Hai… have accumulated experience over time in new environments. And importantly, they all decided to return to V.League at different times. They can still play at the top level, instead of being “long-term reserve” abroad.
For Cong Phuong, his choice to play for a First Division team upon returning to Vietnam is considered a different vision. It is not simply a matter of finding an environment to maintain his form and high salary.
Sharing with the press at the departure ceremony for the 2024-2025 season of Binh Phuoc club, Cong Phuong said: "When I decided to go abroad to develop Vietnamese football, there were many issues that needed to be resolved. One of those issues was how Vietnamese players could go abroad to compete, thereby improving the level of domestic players.
As everyone can see, Korea and Japan, their players also go abroad to play in developed countries in Europe. This is in the vision of Chairman Son (Chairman of Binh Phuoc Club Pham Huong Son - PV), just like my vision, so I decided to play for Binh Phuoc".
Binh Phuoc is also a name with great ambitions to be promoted in this year's tournament. If Cong Phuong makes his mark in the journey to complete that goal, this striker will also affirm his value.
