The cruelty of the pitch

After 6 seasons (2012-2017) playing for the Mining team, last season captain Vu Minh Tuan left to play for FLC Thanh Hoa. Surprisingly, this was also the year this winger scored the fewest goals (4 goals) after 24 appearances.

Thanh Hoa audiences did not expect that the player who scored 11 goals in V-League 2016 would decline like that. When he was playing for Than Quang Ninh, Nghiem Xuan Tu, the right winger, shared a lot of the burden with Minh Tuan, but now he is alone.

Bamboo is not old yet.

When he returned to play for FLC Thanh Hoa, the former captain of Than Quang Ninh no longer received favorable passes from his teammates. His greatest weapon, speed, was not utilized, and he did not have many opportunities to demonstrate his free kick ability. Of course, the result was that the player from the Mining region who had played for the national team since 2014 stopped at number 14, giving way to his juniors Hong Duy and Van Duc.

Van Duc wore the exact number 20 shirt that his senior PS10 left behind. Photo: Internet

After 5 years playing for SLNA (2013-2017), playing 107 matches and scoring 25 goals, Phi Son left Nghe An to join the team of his senior Cong Vinh to "renew" his football career. In the new shirt of Ho Chi Minh City Club, due to injury, Phi Son only played 21 matches, scored 6 goals and was not selected for the national team to participate in the AFF Cup 2018.

In 5 years playing for Nghe An, Phi Son never received a red card, but in his first season playing for the Thong Nhat Stadium team, this player had to "take an early bath" (in the match against the home team Than Quang Ninh). He was called up to the U23 Vietnam team very early (2014) and was added to the national team in 2016. At that time, many people thought that if he only needed to dribble less, Phi Son could completely compete equally for a winger position in the team with Thanh Trung, Minh Tuan, and Van Toan.

It was thought that after leaving Vinh Stadium to go to a new shore, with his skillful feet, showing the qualities of a winger, Phi Son would have a bright future both in the club and the national team. But until now, Ho Chi Minh City Club is still struggling at the bottom of the V-League 2018 rankings, and the number of times PS10 has played for the national team is still at 3. At the new club, Phi Son does not have the favorable passes that Khac Ngoc used to do when he played for SLNA.

If the absence of the 2017 Golden Ball winner Dinh Thanh Trung left a certain regret, the fact that the two expected players Phi Son and Minh Tuan were not present at the 2018 AFF Cup is considered correct.

Obviously, when leaving their old teams, both Phi Son and Minh Tuan, in addition to having good incomes, aimed for higher titles in their careers. But surprisingly, at rich teams, considered to be more ambitious, they failed to develop their professional abilities.

Bamboo shoots have grown

Meanwhile, his junior Van Duc - Phi Son's replacement - has made miraculous progress. At SLNA, despite being injured after the 18th ASIAD, Van Duc still managed to play 19 matches for SLNA, scoring 9 goals to help the Nghe An team finish 4th in the season. The important thing is that Van Duc has made a name for himself in the U23, Olympic and now national teams.

The Korean teacher was the one who discovered and raised Van Duc to a higher level. Photo: VH

Midfielder No. 20 does not have the skillful dribbling moves of Phi Son, does not have the flexible upper body of Thanh Trung, and does not have the classy free kicks of his senior Minh Tuan. Van Duc's playing style is simple, based on a fairly durable physical foundation, the ability to choose a sensitive position and immediately shoot whenever his feet are free. The Korean coach is the one who discovered and raised this SLNA player to a new level.

In his fourth appearance in the Vietnamese national team, the 22-year-old player scored his first goal after making an assist and hitting the post in this tournament. Not many people thought of Van Duc as a perfect replacement for his senior Phi Son at both the club and national team levels. At the AFF Cup 2018, the number 20 player made remarkable progress, becoming a strategic player for Mr. Park Hang-seo.

It's not that Phi Son or Minh Tuan don't have the effort or the desire to wear the national team's shirt, but sometimes in football, people need more luck. Many players leave the team they have been with for many years, suddenly their performance drops and they soon disappear from the field.

But there are young players who, faced with small opportunities, quickly grasped and improved their skills. Van Duc is such a player. If he wins the AFF Cup 2018, the Nghe An player will have an even better future.