Midfielder Vuong Quoc Trung, has 'overcome the crisis'

(Baonghean.vn) -In the 68th minute of the match between Saigon FC and Hai Phong, player number 19 Vuong Quoc Trung of the away team had a powerful shot, the ball curled into the top corner of goalkeeper Duong Quang Tuan's goal. It was an extremely beautiful goal, contributing to helping coach Truong Viet Hoang and his team make an extraordinary comeback, after being 3 goals behind.

The moment that Vuong Quoc Trung created at Thong Nhat Stadium was one of many times the former SLNA player left a deep impression in the hearts of fans in V.League 2016. The Port City team is having a very successful season, with no small contribution from this central midfielder born in 1990.

However, witnessing the impressive performance of Vuong Quoc Trung, few people know that this player had to go through difficult days, and at times thought he would have to say goodbye to his "football" career.

Midfielder Vuong Quoc Trung

Hard days

Although his house is only a few minutes walk from Vinh Stadium, it was not until he was 13 that Vuong Quoc Trung officially joined the SLNA youth training center. During his years in SLNA youth teams, the name Vuong Quoc Trung was not noticed by many people. The rarest mark that the player born in 1990 left was only being part of the U17 and U21 SLNA teams that won the championship in 2006 and 2012. The rest was nothing more than a blur among his teammates of the same age.

If Vuong Quoc Trung's football career could be summed up in one word, it would be "late". After returning from the championship with U21 SLNA in Ninh Thuan in 2012, Vuong Quoc Trung was promoted to the first team by SLNA's leadership to compete in the V.League 2013. At the age of 23, he was just included in the first team, which is still considered a bit late compared to the habit of using young players of the Nghe An team. During the past time, most of SLNA's young talents often appeared in the most prestigious playground in Vietnam when they were only around 18-21 years old.

Admittedly, Vuong Quoc Trung was unlucky. During this time, SLNA's midfield was quite crowded with famous names such as Hoang Van Binh, Ngo Hoang Thinh, Ho Khac Ngoc... so Vuong Quoc Trung rarely got to play.

This midfielder’s usual position is on the bench. Throughout the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the number of times the player born in 1990 entered the field could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Most of those times were in the National Cup matches or when the match result was already decided.

After seasons of having to sit on the bench, to save his career that was at risk of fading, Vuong Quoc Trung "knocked on the door" of the Lach Tray Stadium team. After days of trial in Hai Phong, Vuong Quoc Trung was retained by the leadership of the Port City team to participate in the 2015 season. In the early stages of the new environment, the situation was not very bright for the former SLNA player. The days of being confined to the bench continued to haunt Vuong Quoc Trung, when he was occasionally allowed to enter the field by coach Truong Viet Hoang in the final minutes of the match.

Career turning point

In the match between B. Binh Duong and Hai Phong at Go Dau Stadium in V.League 2015, Vuong Quoc Trung entered the field when the clock had already turned to minute 60. In those short 30 minutes, the former SLNA player demonstrated his inherent ability very well. Since the presence of Vuong Quoc Trung on the field, Hai Phong's midfield has become much stronger, even slightly better than the team from the Southeast region.

The brave tackles, fierce and intelligent one-on-one battles made his colleagues on the other side of the battle line breathless and bored. It was because of that impressive performance that right after the match between B. Binh Duong ended, Coach Miura named Vuong Quoc Trung in the Vietnam National Team to prepare for the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers. The news that Vuong Quoc Trung was called up to the national team surprised many people, even Vuong Quoc Trung himself was shocked by Coach Miura's decision.

Midfielder Vuong Quoc Trung was called up to the Vietnam National Team by Coach Miura.

Although he is just a "blue team" in the national team, the days of training in the team environment have helped Trung improve a lot both in terms of expertise and competitive mentality.

Entering this year's season, captain Nguyen Minh Chau was no longer used by coach Truong Viet Hoang because his form and fitness were no longer as good as before. Instead, Hoang "bot" decided to give the remaining central midfielder position next to Khanh Lam to Vuong Quoc Trung. Not letting down his coach, the 26-year-old midfielder played very convincingly.

Throughout the season, Vuong Quoc Trung played consistently. Not only was he a solid shield in the Hai Phong midfield, this player also regularly threatened the opponent's goal with his hammer-like long-range shots. His two goals against Than Quang Ninh and Saigon FC were typical proof of that.

A very valuable quality in Vuong Quoc Trung's playing style is his extremely high fighting spirit. Observing Hai Phong's matches this season, there were times when the team from the city of phoenix flowers was overwhelmed by the opponent, Vuong Quoc Trung kept shouting, encouraging his teammates to continue fighting. Looking at Vuong Quoc Trung, people see the image of midfielder Nguyen Minh Chau.

The future is promising

With only one more round until the end of V.League 2016, Hai Phong football team is facing a historic opportunity to win the championship of the tournament. If that becomes a reality in a few days, midfielder Vuong Quoc Trung will be one of the happiest people.

Besides, at the end of September, the national team will gather to prepare for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016, the midfielder from Nghe An will most likely have another chance to be part of the team. And quite interestingly, after this season ends, the former SLNA player will officially "take his wife home".

Hopefully, after a series of difficult days, Vuong Quoc Trung will reap more success in his football career.

Le Thanh Hung