Best Young Player of the Year 2014: Not convincing!?

(Baonghean) - The voting results for the Golden Ball (QBV) and the best young player in Vietnam in 2014 not only surprised many fans but also surprised experts, who said that the votes were too emotional...

Surprisingly, the votes for the Golden Ball for Thanh Luong as well as the votes for the Best Young Player for Tuan Anh far exceeded the remaining names. Right on the night of the results announcement, football expert Vu Manh Hai exclaimed: "The best young player must be Cong Phuong, why is it Tuan Anh?". The expert, who is a former player of The Cong football club, shared: With Cong Phuong's performances in the U19 Vietnam team at international youth football tournaments in 2014, this player is much more deserving than Tuan Anh. Although the midfielder from Thai Binh also played excellently, Cong Phuong made a more outstanding impression.

Coach Nguyen Huu Thang also immediately spoke up: "The votes for the 2014 Vietnamese football titles are more emotional than professional." According to the former SLNA coach, the fact that Cong Phuong was not voted the Best Young Player of 2014 is an injustice to the striker born in 1995. He shared: "I do not deny Tuan Anh's talent, but overall, Cong Phuong is the most outstanding player in the U19 Vietnam team in 2014. In my opinion, if Cong Phuong is given 10 points, Tuan Anh only gets 8 points. The fact that voters voted for Tuan Anh as the Best Young Player is more of a motivation than an honor. Perhaps the name Cong Phuong has been mentioned too much in the past time, so the voters are no longer excited about him!?!".

Cong Phuong (number 10) in the match against U19 Japan at the U19 Asian Cup. Photo: Internet

Similarly, the third Golden Ball award for Thanh Luong, according to coach Nguyen Huu Thang, is also unconvincing. The former SLNA captain analyzed: “Thanh Luong is a good player, but in 2011 he won the Golden Ball award when the club he played for, HN.ACB, was relegated, which was an unconvincing decision. In 2014, Thanh Luong's performance at HN.T&T Club as well as the national team was not as impressive as Van Quyet and Cong Vinh. In my opinion, the award for Thanh Luong is a recognition for a beloved player, not the most outstanding one.”

If he were allowed to vote, Coach Huu Thang said he would vote for Van Quyet for the Golden Ball because of his brilliant performance for the national team at the 2014 AFF Cup. Regarding Cong Vinh, Coach Huu Thang confided: “Cong Vinh and I are fellow countrymen. In 2014, Cong Vinh was my student at SLNA. This player was an important factor in leading the team's playing style. When wearing the national team's jersey, Cong Vinh also played very well and was one of two Vietnamese players to be included in the AFF Cup's best squad. Therefore, he is completely worthy of the highest title. However, if I vote for the Golden Ball title for Cong Vinh, I'm afraid it won't be very objective.”

According to coach Huu Thang, emotions have a bigger say than expertise in the 2014 Vietnam football title vote. This puts Cong Vinh and Cong Phuong at a disadvantage when off-field stories negatively affect them. The former SLNA coach expressed his thoughts: “We need to clearly separate expertise and emotions. If the Vietnam football title vote follows this trend, I think the award should be renamed Most Beloved Vietnamese Player of the Year.”

The lack of persuasiveness in the votes was also evident when the Ballon d'Or winner Thanh Luong and the Best Young Player Tuan Anh, when asked, also said that if they had a vote, they would vote for Van Quyet for the Ballon d'Or and Cong Phuong for the Best Young Player. However, as the first teacher who taught Cong Phuong to play football, Mr. Truong Quang Vinh said: "It is difficult to reach consensus in any election, even the FIFA Ballon d'Or title. The important thing is the recognition of the audience. In this, Cong Phuong is superior to the other players. The fact that Cong Phuong is the main factor attracting millions of Vietnamese audiences back to the field is enough for the VFF to recognize and honor."

Hoang Hao