Cong Phuong and U23 Vietnam lifted the Southeast Asian Cup on the evening of July 29 - he scored the only goal in the final, after a journey of both physical and mental stress. Before recovering, the next day the team traveled a long distance to return home. Then, on the afternoon of July 31, people saw Cong Phuong appear in the main squad of U21 The Cong Viettel in the National U21 final.
Is there anything commendable here? Other than spirit, there is nothing else. And it is entirely possible that Cong Phuong himself is not ready to play in such a state. Psychologically, after the end of a tournament, the brain signals to rest and relax, but then immediately has to "come back" for a short time, and in the most important match, it can be a shock to the body.
Even if Cong Phuong knows the schedule to maintain the state, the problem lies in the fact that sports science has shown that 72 hours after each match is the minimum time for the body to truly recover. But Cong Phuong had less than 48 hours. Children do not mean that machines do not know how to get tired. Top-level football is not simply playing with spirit.
Unless Cong Phuong is a Lionel Messi-style outstanding star to appear and bring the position to the team alone, the rest, all the problems are not positive. In reality, the player born in Hai Duong did not leave an impression or results of not training with his teammates. From the "hero" to the "invisible person" is less than 2 days apart.
Cong Phuong's story may not be a big concern because of the widespread impact, but that is a slice that shows that football thinking still prioritizes immediate achievements rather than caring about the health of players. While world football fights for players to rest, Vietnamese football does the opposite.
The consequences may not come immediately, but in the long run, the same thing can still happen. At that time, there was a debate about the future of the players and who was responsible...
