When Cong Phuong was determined to stay at Yokohama FC in Japan despite the team being relegated from J1 League to J2 League, there were hopes that the Nghe An striker would have more opportunities in a more suitable tournament. But in the end, in the season when this team was leading and aiming for a ticket back to J1 League, the former Hoang Anh Gia Lai striker did not have a single moment to contribute. He only played twice in the J.League Cup with a short period of time.
And finally, on September 14, an official announcement was made from the team confirming that the two sides had parted ways and Cong Phuong had moved to play for another team outside of Japan.
“Outside Japan”, finally, Vietnam. The information is confirmed that the 29-year-old striker will wear the shirt of Ho Chi Minh Youth Club in the First Division. Having a new destination soon is good news for Cong Phuong personally. Even better is that being able to play regularly can open up opportunities for him to return to the national team.
But for Vietnamese football, the fact that Cong Phuong - a player who has tried very hard to pursue his ambition of playing abroad with 4 trips abroad, followed Quang Hai's footsteps and returned to his homeland also marked the fact that there are no more top players (from V.League to go abroad) to play abroad. While Hoang Duc has also almost closed the door to the opportunity/ability to go abroad, at least during this time, Vietnamese football, along with Cambodia and Brunei, are the 3 Southeast Asian countries that do not have any domestic players going abroad.
Quite sad, but true to the reality. Because in addition to the salary and signing bonuses in the country being high enough to erode ambition, the quality of Vietnamese players is not enough to compete in prestigious tournaments.
So, when starting from zero, experts hope that players who still have the desire to challenge themselves, should take steps rather than make a leap that people almost certainly know will lead to failure and waste time...
