Thanh Hoa - SLNA: The story of 2 players wearing number 20

Due to the injury from SEA Games 30, Trong Hung has only played 17 minutes in V.League 2020 so far. When the score at Tam Ky Stadium was 2-1, Trong Hung was able to replace Hoang Vu Samson as a left winger in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Perhaps the biggest regret for coach F. Lopez is that he did not have the service of this 20-year-old player in the 5 matches he was in charge of.

Return from injury

Phan Van Duc is the hope of SLNA. Photo: Xuan Thuy

When he came to Thanh Hoa to work, the Italian coach was only introduced as a key player, playing 24/26 matches of last season and scoring 3 goals for the home team. In fact, in his first season playing in the V.League, Trong Hung took over the position of his senior Dinh Tung because of his enthusiastic and aggressive playing style.

Only 1.72m tall and 67kg in weight, Trong Hung has the ability to bend the ball and break the back of the opposing defender. Many times, from the left wing, midfielder number 20 has switched the ball to his right foot to make curling shots into the top corner of the goal. Trong Hung's running steps have a similar physique to Van Duc's, quite coincidentally, both of them are good at playing left wing midfielder and both wear the number 20 shirt.

Being called by Mr. Park to the U22 Vietnam team and the National Team during the time Van Duc was injured, Vietnamese fans expected Trong Hung to be the version of "Van Duc 2.0". But in reality, it seems that Trong Hung's experience in avoiding collisions is not as good as his senior, so the rising star has been constantly injured. At the 30th SEA Games and the 2020 U23 Asian Cup, Trong Hung did not contribute much.

Trong Hung is Thanh Hoa's trump card. Photo Thanh Hoa FC

But certainly, Coach Thanh Cong will put his trump card on the field in the match against SLNA. The few minutes he was present in the match against Quang Nam showed that Trong Hung was ready for his debut with the home audience. In terms of expertise, when SLNA's two wings, Van Duc and Tuan Tai, are both very strong, to score points, the home team must have players with speed and technique. In the context that Dinh Tung is not ready, Trong Hung is a good choice for new Coach Thanh Cong.

The fate of number 20 on the away team SLNA seems to be better, at least Van Duc has 209 minutes of play and 2 goals for SLNA. Having played for the Nghe An team for the 5th season makes Van Duc's playing experience much better than Trong Hung's. Compared to Trong Hung, the ability to create, score and harass the away team midfielder is rated much higher.

Interesting confrontation

While the two foreign strikers are causing considerable disappointment, Van Duc is "carrying the team" and Coach Thanh Cong understands that. It is not known how Coach Thanh Cong will use the wing midfielder duo Van Thang and Trong Hung to counter the duo Tuan Tai and Van Duc. When he was still playing, Coach Thanh Cong also played the wing midfielder position, so he knows how to help his students maximize their strengths in both attack and defense.

In the playing style of both SLNA and Thanh Hoa, the wingers can switch wings. That means there will be times when people will see the two number 20s of the two teams facing each other, this is an opportunity for people to witness Van Duc and Trong Hung compete. Both are the pride of fans of Thanh and Nghe.

If Trong Hung is expected to bring the first points to the home team, then Van Duc, after the penalty goal in Vinh against SHB.Da Nang, will be the hope to bring 3 points to SLNA. The battle of wits between Coach Quang Truong and Thanh Cong will therefore be more interesting than ever, making the North Central derby more worth watching.