Is Cong Phuong good or bad?

The most anticipated striker of the Vietnam U.23 team with the goal of scoring points at the 2018 AFC U.23 Championship to create a miracle for coach Park Hang-seo is still Cong Phuong, although he has recently been closely scrutinized.

Cong Phuong (10) is an indispensable player of U.23 Vietnam at this time.

During many times sitting with us, Mr. Duc often asked: "Is Cong Phuong good or bad at playing?", then he immediately said: "Cong Phuong scores goals regularly for the national teams, participating in all arenas. He doesn't play dirty, doesn't play rudely, and isn't rude to anyone. So why criticize him?"

There is a story that players in the U.23 Vietnam team often tell each other about how Cong Phuong not only plays affectionately with his teammates but also has a sense of chivalry. It happened very quickly in the final match of the 2017 SEA Games group stage at the beginning of the second half, U.23 Vietnam had a penalty in the context of being two goals behind U.23 Thailand.

Center back Dong Trieu said, at that time everyone was nervous, not confident enough to take the 11m penalty. So Cong Phuong took the kick. The kick sent the ball soaring into the sky. Only later did Cong Phuong confess that if he missed the kick, people would "curse" him... he was used to it, if another teammate was turned into a sinner, he would not be able to live well.

Returning to the expertise, it is easy to see that from the U.19 Vietnam team three years ago, Cong Phuong has always been the number one choice for any coach on the national team. The adaptability of the number 10 of the HAGL team is indisputable. Remember the time when Mr. Miura might not like Tuan Anh's soft playing style or Xuan Truong's lack of fighting ability, but with Cong Phuong, there is still a way to perceive and use him effectively.

In Huu Thang's time, striker Cong Phuong was indispensable. Under new coach Park Hang-seo, no matter how he rotates players or swaps positions, or what tactical scheme, Cong Phuong is still sure to have a place.

Of course, Cong Phuong's playing style and performance do not always match the reality on the field. Mr. Park also saw that, like the time he had to take this striker off in the second half of the friendly match against Ulsan Hyundai 2-3.

Even Mr. Duc still admits that it is normal for the coach to replace Cong Phuong when he does not play well. However, he is very upset that public opinion only likes to "look" at the negative side of this 22-year-old striker and rarely pays attention to his contributions to the team's playing style and overall success.

Maybe in a moment of anger, Mr. Duc asked a question like Cong Phuong did not admit that he played well, or that there were many people who harmed the national team, so why did he not criticize but instead target Cong Phuong? He concluded that because many people hate him, no matter how hard Cong Phuong plays, it will be difficult to win the Vietnamese Golden Ball.

However, on the contrary, the somewhat critical comments about Cong Phuong from many circles also show more expectations and hope for this striker.

Of course, everyone wants Cong Phuong to be luckier than many of his colleagues who possess the necessary qualities of a good player, he just needs to be even better!

According to TNO