Reflecting on Cong Phuong's 331 minutes of playing in Belgium
(Baonghean.vn) - Joining Sint-Truidense Club, the striker from Nghe An plays for the Belgian team with a 1-year loan contract from HAGL Club. Up to now, Cong Phuong has only played 20 minutes of official matches and 311 minutes in the youth team.
The Belgian National Championship consists of 16 participating teams. More than half of the season has passed. Sint-Truidense Club has played round 19 (out of 30 rounds) and is currently in 11th place. Up to now, it seems that Cong Phuong is not in the professional plans of both club coaches.
Bancurtain call
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At the youth team, Cong Phuong played 4 matches with a total duration of 311 minutes, scoring 1 goal. Photo: Sint-Truidense. |
The Japanese owners wanted to turn the club into a transit point, bringing Asian players to play in Europe. Having to sell skilled players affected the strength and performance of Sint Truidense. Unable to balance the pressure from many sides, coach Marc Brys had to leave the team.
Up to now, the use of the striker born in 1995 by coach Marc Brys has also made experts wonder. Although he did not rate Cong Phuong highly, he still sent Cong Phuong onto the field for 20 minutes for Sint-Truidense in the 2019/2020 season. That was a 0-6 loss to Club Brugge, the strongest team in the Belgian championship on August 2, 2019.
For any rookie, if thrown into such a difficult match, it would be difficult to show anything. After Sint-Truidense's match with SV Zulte Waregem on August 24, 2019, Cong Phuong was not registered by the coach in the match list. In total, Cong Phuong had 14 consecutive matches where his name was removed from the first team's registration list.
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| With only 20 minutes on the field and 14 consecutive matches without a name registered to play, should Cong Phuong continue in Belgium to prolong this disappointing streak? Photo: Sint-Truidense. |
Not on the list of registered players, interim coach Nicky Hayen also sent Cong Phuong to the youth team to practice and gain experience. In the youth team, this striker only played 4 matches with a total of 311 minutes, scoring 1 goal. Thus, up to now, Cong Phuong has played a total of 331 minutes in Belgium.
In fact, at the same time Cong Phuong arrived in Belgium, there was also a Korean striker who shared the same fate. It was when Sint-Truidense visited Zulte-Waregem in the 19th round of the Belgian championship that Korean striker Lee Seung Woo was on the match registration list.
This is the first time this striker has been registered to play since joining the Belgian team in August. The reason Lee Seung Woo is also sitting on the bench at Sint-Truidense is because he does not have a work permit, not because of professional issues like Cong Phuong.
The decisive moment
According to Transfermarkt's valuation, after joining Sint-Truidense, Cong Phuong was worth 200,000 euros, an increase of 50,000 euros before joining this team. But in the team, this player's price is only ranked 26th at the new club, a number that shows that the possibility of being named in the competition list is not easy.
Cong Phuong’s contract with Sint-Truidense still has less than 6 months to end. With the harsh reality of only 20 minutes on the field and 14 consecutive matches without being registered to play, should Cong Phuong continue to stay in Belgium to prolong this disappointing streak? Especially when Ho Chi Minh City Club has sent a signal to “liberate” the Vietnamese football star who is having sad days in a foreign land.
