The truth about J.League
For more than a decade, Cong Vinh, Cong Phuong, Tuan Anh, Van Lam, Van Luan, Ngoc Long... have played in the 3 highest tournaments in Japan. Tuan Hai or Hoang Duc - good players who have not gone abroad also aim to go to J.League to challenge themselves.
Although football is a background that attracts many Vietnamese players, Japan is not a fertile land for Vietnamese players. The proof is that except for Cong Vinh, no Vietnamese player has left an impression in the land of cherry blossoms. Cong Phuong joined Mito Hollyhock in 2016 and Tuan Anh joined Yokohama FC at the same time. However, after only 1 season, they quietly left when their home club did not give them a chance to compete.
At the end of 2022, Cong Phuong returned to Japan to sign a 3-year contract with Yokohama FC. But after 2 seasons (2022-2023 and 2023-2024), he returned to the Vietnam First Division to play more. All Cong Phuong had at Yokohama FC was just a few individual matches in the Imperial Cup and did not play a single minute in the national tournament.
The first problem for Vietnamese players is the confusing view of Japanese football. According to research from experts, J.League 1 and 2 have very high physical requirements. There is no such thing as a player who is good at technique but weak in endurance can shine in the two highest divisions of football in this country.
They have to adapt, work hard to move without the ball, and continuously run at high intensity in matches. Of course, players playing in the V.League - a tournament with only 50-60 minutes of play time - will find it difficult to immediately adapt to J.League standards.
Strict regulations
In addition to physical problems, Tuan Anh and Cong Phuong have more reasons for not being successful in Japan. They are not versatile and lack the necessary skills to create comprehensiveness for the positions they take on at Yokohama FC or Mito Hollyhock.
Unlike Cong Vinh playing as a striker with the task of focusing completely on the goal-scoring stage at Consadole Sapporo, the roles of Cong Phuong and Tuan Anh are respectively the full-backs and central midfielders. It is worth mentioning that these are two positions in which clubs in J.League 1 and 2 require a lot of diversity in their skill set.
It is known that the Japanese have their own set of standards with " front lines" for each position, especially central midfielders and attackers. Although he is only a defensive midfielder, the player has to answer many other skills such as passing the ball, distributing, shooting from a distance...
If a foreign player in the J.League cannot keep up with this set of standards, plus lacks the acumen to adapt to the coach's tactics, the opportunity to start is very low. This also happens regularly during training sessions. Of course, when they did not understand the captain's intention, Tuan Anh and Cong Phuong had difficulty being on the registration list, let alone entering the stadium.
The failures of Cong Phuong and Tuan Anh were not only individual and individual. Because since then, no Vietnamese player has created attraction or achieved success in J.League 1 and 2. Most recently, Pham Tuan Hai called out wanting to go to J.League to play football. However, even when Hanoi FC was willing to create conditions for him to satisfy his wishes, Japanese teams were not interested in the current form and ability of Hai "little".
Looking from the V.League and comparing it with the characteristics of the J.League, Vietnamese players should choose a more realistic destination. If they cannot conquer J.League 1 and 2, the players should think about J.League 3. The tournament still applies a long-term football style and has similarities with Southeast Asian football in general and Vietnam in particular.
Many unknown players from Indonesia or Thailand also started from J.League 2 or 3. After a period of getting used to football in Japan, they can gradually move up to a higher level.
Vietnamese football has seen Nguyen Van Son and Bui Ngoc Long compete in J.League 3. This is also a suitable environment for other young players such as Long Vu (Song Lam Nghe An), Viet Anh (PVF), Cong Phuong (The Cong Viettel) ... to show themselves.
