Japanese newspaper: 'Cong Phuong is treated like a new recruit'

Vietnam national team striker Nguyen Cong Phuong was given few opportunities in his first season playing for Yokohama FC, and continues to face challenges when the club is relegated to the Second Division in the 2024 season.

The Yokohama FC section of Japanese news site Targma evaluates all of the team's players for the 2023 season. However, the analysis becomes difficult when Cong Phuong only played once officially when he came on in the second half of the 2-3 loss to Nagoya Grampus in the J-League Cup.

Targma commented that when he arrived in Yokohama, Cong Phuong was the number 10 of the Vietnam national team, highly regarded for his ability and loved by many people, but was out of place in a group of 39 players. "Cong Phuong was treated like a rookie fresh out of high school," the article said. "He had good ability but did not have many opportunities to show it."

Cong Phuong (number 4) during Yokohama FC's training session in the 2023 season. Photo: HM

Among the seven strikers, Cong Phuong played the least, along with Yoshiyuki Ishii. But the Japanese player's problem was long-term injuries, and Cong Phuong often only played in training matches as a blue team, and was not even registered for any matches in J-League 1 and the Emperor's Cup. With no playing time, Cong Phuong also lost his place in the Vietnam national team under coach Philippe Troussier.

"Phuong's pride was hurt," Targma commented. "Another problem is that he is not fluent in English and is shy, like many other Vietnamese players."

This news site quoted Cong Phuong's comments at the beginning of the 2023 season, about the differences between Japanese and Vietnamese football. Accordingly, when Vietnamese players lose the ball, they receive a lot of positive encouragement to continue practicing, while Japanese players are blamed more. The striker born in 1995 has had a year to get used to it, so he needs to prove his integration.

Targma believes that Cong Phuong needs to produce certain results regardless of positive or negative assessment of his level. In addition, his journey will be closely monitored when it is determined that he will not return to Vietnam until the end of his contract with Yokohama FC in January 2026.

After the 2023 season, Yokohama was relegated to J-League 2. However, the team aims to be one of three teams to return to J-League 1 in the 2024 season. Competition is still high as the team wants to keep a force of about 40 players.

Yokohama is preparing for the new season by renewing contracts with several players and coach Shuhei Yomoda. On January 7, the team will hold a ceremony to announce the schedule and new players for the 2024 season, before gathering on January 14. J-League 2 is scheduled to start on February 23.

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