Being 'forgotten' in the national team, what did midfielder Tran Phi Son say?

(Baonghean.vn) - In the away match against Cambodia in the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers, midfielder Tran Phi Son of SLNA was not called up. This time when the Vietnam team played again, Phi Son was not upset because he was not called up.

SLNA has just gone through a series of 4 wins and 1 draw in all competitions, and also excellently won a ticket to the National Cup final against B. Binh Duong. In particular, midfielder Tran Phi Son became the leader of the team with 4 goals, nearly ten assists after 20 matches in V.League.

In the National Cup, Phi Son also became the number 1 passer in the achievement of reaching the final round. After the return match at Tam Ky Stadium against Quang Nam, Nghe An fans felt extremely sorry for Phi Son when he contributed to all 3 goals of SLNA.

Phi Son is making Nghe An fans feel excited. Photo: Trung Kien

When asked by Nghe An Newspaper reporter about the secret to such high performance, midfielder Tran Phi Son said: “First of all, I think that my current performance is partly thanks to my teammates like Khac Ngoc, Ngoc Toan or Olaha Micheal. Khac Ngoc and I have practiced and played football together since we were young, so when I move, Khac Ngoc can read my intentions and support me. As for Olaha, although he doesn't score often, he is a very important factor in supporting both attack and defense. Olaha works very hard and moves around. And of course, we have had consecutive victories thanks to the reasonable formation and tactics of head coach Nguyen Duc Thang and the team's coaching staff.

For me personally, a relaxed mentality has helped me have a physical state and confidence every time I go on the field. And 5 years of playing in the V.League as well as the national team has helped me balance the pressure as well as create excitement for myself every time I play football. I only regret that if I had been luckier, SLNA's foreign players would have scored more goals."

Midfielder Tran Phi Son in a friendly match with Manchester City Club. Photo: NVCC

Regarding the fact that he has not been called up to the national team for the 2018 Asian Cup Qualifiers, the star shared: “The national team currently has many good players in the midfield position who meet the requirements in terms of expertise and desire to compete. Each national team head coach has his own way of selecting personnel and his own criteria to suit the team's playing style. Wearing the national team jersey and contributing to the country is what everyone dreams of and strives for. However, I think that my most important task right now is to bring SLNA to win the 2017 National Cup and achieve a good ranking when the 2017 V.League ends. Not being called up to the national team at this time is not my top goal. However, I will continue to strive towards that aspiration. I believe that if I continue to strive, in the future I will still have the honor to contribute to the national team.”

Some Nghe fans believe that Phi Son not being called up to the national team at this time is actually a good thing for SLNA. Because he is the most important player in the Nghe team and being able to focus on the team in the two arenas in the final stage is what they expect.

Trung Kien