Why Cong Phuong and Tuan Anh are 'wearing out their pants' on the bench?

(Baonghean.vn) - This afternoon, October 16, when witnessing striker Cong Phuong only being on the field for the last 7 minutes of the match between Mito Hollyhock and Yokohama FC, 1-1, in round 36 of J-League 2, while midfielder Tuan Anh was not allowed to play, Vietnamese fans could not help but feel sad...

Nguyen Cong Phuong became a disappointment for Vietnamese fans at the Japanese club.

Nearly a year after joining Mito Hollyhock Club on loan from HAGL, Cong Phuong often sits on the bench and his main job is almost only to help the Japanese team promote its brand to domestic fans.

Japanese fans cheer for the match.

According to statistics, after 36 rounds of J-League 2 (42 rounds in total), Cong Phuong only played 5 matches (1 starting match, 4 times coming off the bench) and played for only 80 minutes. In those 80 minutes, the Nghe An striker only had one shot.

Cong Phuong's only start to date was in round 26 of J-League 2 when Mito beat Zweigen Kanazawa 3-0 on July 31. Although Mito dominated the game and won by a landslide, the striker only touched the ball... 4 times before leaving the field to make way for his teammate in the 53rd minute.

In the match between Mito Hollyhock and Yokohama FC, Vietnamese fans expected Cong Phuong to face his former teammate Nguyen Tuan Anh for the first time. However, he was only brought onto the field in the 86th minute, plus 4 minutes of injury time. During this short time, Cong Phuong could not leave any mark because his team completely retreated to defend the draw.

Many Vietnamese fans watching on television and those who came to the stadium to watch their idols in this match were completely “offside”. In front of the cheers of Japanese fans for Cong Phuong, Coach Mito Hollyhock sent this striker as a form of courtesy. Although Cong Phuong had tried very hard in the land of the rising sun.

Not being able to play regularly at the club, the performance of player Nguyen Cong Phuong in the national team jersey will be a difficult problem for coach Nguyen Huu Thang.

Not everyone knows the mysteries of Japanese football. At any J-League or J-League 2 club, coaches here use a maximum of 2 foreign players to maintain identity and create conditions for young Japanese players to develop. In theory, the Japan Football Association - JFA still stipulates that clubs can use a maximum of 5 foreign players, including 3 players (European, African, American...) and 1 player of Asian origin, 1 player of Southeast Asian origin.

So this is almost the main reason why at Mito Hollyhock and Yokohama FC, Cong Phuong and Tuan Anh not only have to compete with young Japanese players, but they will also have to compete with the remaining foreign players, who are all outstanding players from Korean or DPRK football.

Although Cong Phuong has tried very hard, this is really a sadness for a young talent who was once considered to have a strong explosion in the future. As for Tuan Anh, things are not much better as he has not played a single minute in J-League 2 but only in the Japanese Emperor's Cup.

In this afternoon’s match, Tuan Anh, although not injured in a previous training session, will find it difficult to reunite with his teammate Cong Phuong because they are really just “supporting actors” in the land of the rising sun. This will more or less affect their performance in the Vietnam national team in the near future.

Trung Kien