Cong Phuong - an unconvincing 'debut' after his 'study abroad' trip
(Baonghean.vn) - Star player Cong Phuong celebrated his 25th birthday on the day Ho Chi Minh City FC played the AFC Champions League preliminary match against Thai champions Buriram United. Despite being in the starting lineup, the Nghe An-born striker failed to make an impression and was substituted.
AFC Champions League, the highest tournament for clubs in Asia. This is the preliminary match of the two top teams Thailand and Vietnam, considered the countries with the strongest football today.
Buriram United is the most successful club in Thailand, having won 7 Thai League titles, 4 FA Cups, 5 League Cups and 1 Thai Super Cup. In continental competition, the team has won the Mekong Club Championship twice and reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League in 2013.
Classy homeowner
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| Cong Phuong rarely had the ball in this match. Photo: Buriram |
The Chang Arena team is considered the strongest club in Thailand in recent years, having participated in the AFC Champions League many times. The current club president is Mr. Newin Chidchob - who served as Deputy Minister of Agriculture under former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Currently, Coach B.Bandovic owns 7 national players including: Siwarak, Sasalak, Hemviboon, Narubadin, Supachai, Supachok and Suphanat, along with 4 foreign players from Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Korea and Philippines. The home team has the strongest force for the match against Ho Chi Minh City.
Ho Chi Minh City, the current V.League runner-up, will be participating in the AFC Champions League for the first time, replacing Hanoi because they did not meet the requirements to participate (U15 did not play in the youth tournament). Coach Chung Hae-seong has been given the green light by the club owners to make a series of changes to the coaching staff and the player lineup.
In the preliminary match, due to only being allowed to register 20 players and for various reasons, Ho Chi Minh City was missing Huu Tuan, Van Thuan, Quang Nam, Tien Dung, Tang Tien, Huy Toan, Xuan Nam. Of course, the most interested person was the national team player: Cong Phuong, who had just left Sint-Truidense VV (Belgium) to join Thong Nhat Stadium.
This is the match where Mr. Chung Hae-seong assigned Phi Son to wear the captain's armband, playing left midfielder in a 3-4-3 formation. The attacking trio of Ho Chi Minh City includes center forward Pape Diakite and 2 wingers, Cong Phuong, a foreign player.MatiasJadue peoplePalestine. The third foreign player of Ho Chi Minh City is the new Swedish player Viktor Prodell, playing in the left wing position.
The home team Thailand used 2 strikers BernardoArgentine and Brazilian Ricardo Bueno are both top foreign players in the Thai 1-League. In addition, Venezuelan center-back Andrés Túnêz, 1.87m tall and weighing 95kg, is considered a cornerstone of the home team. Cong Phuong also has the opportunity to meet Thai players such as midfielder Suphanat Mueanta, Supachok Sarachat, Sasalak Haiprakhon or defender Pansa Hemviboon.
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| Pape Diakite (44) plays aggressively and skillfully. Photo: Buriram |
This is a match in which Ho Chi Minh City's squad has 4 players from Nghe An such as Phi Son, Cong Phuong, Hoang Thinh and Ngoc Duc. It seems that only Hoang Thinh has enough strength, technique and experience to confront the Buriram United players. Playing in the central midfield with Vu Anh Tuan, this player had a few approaches to the home team's goal.
Cong Phuong hungry for the ball
Throughout the match, Cong Phuong had little space to show off. The home team's 5-man midfield often rushed in very quickly, and Cong Phuong was not strong at pressing, so he was often hungry for the ball. The only thing he left behind was a run to receive a pass from his teammate, but the Nghe An striker's swing was too slow for the home team's defender to retreat and block.
Having understood the away team's playing style, Buriram gradually pushed up their attacking formation in the 53rd minute. The quick passing made it impossible for Ho Chi Minh City's defense to defend and Buriram United scored the opening goal from a close-range tap-in by Bernardo Cuesta.
When coach Chung Hae-seong decided to send in a midfielderAmido Baldereplacing Vu Anh Tuan, pushing Hoang Thinh up high to increase the attack, Ricardo Bueno scored a goal to increase the gap for Buriram. Buriram's foreign players possess both speed and perfect technique, making the away team hungry for the ball.
In an all-out game, a few minutes later, their efforts finally resulted in a goal to reduce the score to 1-2 thanks to Pape Diakite in the 77th minute. The substitution of Phi Son and Cong Phuong on the right wing ultimately failed to score any more goals, forcing Ho Chi Minh City to regretfully leave the game and play in the AFC Cup. Ho Chi Minh City will be in Group F with opponents Hougang Utd (Singapore), Lao Toyota (Laos) and a qualifying team.
After an unsuccessful debut match, Cong Phuong will have to work hard if he doesn't want to return to the familiar bench like at Sint-Truidense.
