In the early morning of July 10, FK Sarajevo Club hosted the " giant" of Scotland - Celtic in the first qualifying round of the Champions League 2019/2020 season. In this match, businessman Nguyen Hoai Nam - the owner of FK Sarajevo was also present in the stands to directly cheer for the team.
Playing at home, FK Sarajevo players played with great determination to create a surprise. In the first minutes, FK Sarajevo continuously had many dangerous situations towards Celtic's goal. The efforts of the Bosnia & Herzegovina national team were rewarded in the 29th minute, when Mirko Oremus had a close-range tap-in to open the score for the Vietnamese team.
However, the joy of FK Sarajevo fans did not last long. In the 35th minute, Celtic regained control of the game and equalized thanks to Michael Johnston. In the situation of being surrounded by a home player, the 20-year-old striker still handled the ball skillfully before firing a strong shot, defeating goalkeeper Vladan Kovačević.
Entering the second half, Celtic's advantage in strength and experience in the Champions League arena was clearly demonstrated. In the 51st minute, taking advantage of a loophole in the FK Sarajevo defense, striker Odsonne Edouard entered the penalty area and shot dangerously with his left foot, raising the score to 2-1.
In the remaining minutes, the Bosnia & Herzegovina team made consecutive substitutions to equalize but failed. In the 85th minute, the team that invited Cong Phuong to compete received another bitter fruit. From a cross from the right wing, midfielder Scott Sinclair controlled the ball very technically and hit the heels skillfully, surprising the FK Sarajevo defense to score the decisive goal.
After a 1-3 defeat at home, businessman Nguyen Hoai Nam's team is at risk of being eliminated from the Champions League. In the return match, FK Sarajevo needs to score at least 3 goals and conceded less than 1 goal at Celtic to "dream" about a ticket to the Champions League group stage.
In mid-June, billionaire Nguyen Hoai Nam - owner of FK FK Sarajevo Club revealed information about wanting to own Cong Phuong. According to the businessman who was a candidate for the position of VFF Vice President of Finance, he made great efforts for the 24-year-old player to join the Bosnia and Herzegovina team.
Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam wrote on his personal Facebook: "After many efforts, the invitation for Cong Phuong to play for FK Sarajevo to participate in the Champions League was not accepted by the Vietnamese side. The reason is that Cong Phuong chose the second-place team in France".
However, Cong Phuong did not go to France to play for Paris FC or Clermont foot in the Ligue 2 tournament. The destination of the HAGL player is Sint-Truidense Club, competing in the Belgian National Football Championship
The second leg of the Champions League qualifying round between Celtic and FK Sarajevo will take place at Celtic Park at 1:45 a.m. on July 18 (Vietnam time).
