Coach Phung Thanh Phuong is helping the "Red Battleship" Ho Chi Minh City Club smoothly overcome the storm.
Receiving a phone call from the leader of Ho Chi Minh City Club, the former Ho Chi Minh City Police player did not take long to nod, hoping to contribute a small effort to help stabilize the internal situation of the only representative of Saigon football in the top V-League playground.
Because of that motivation, Mr. Phuong (and his two assistants Nguyen Liem Thanh and Dinh Hong Vinh) accepted to rush into the storm with a temporary position, waiting for a foreign coach to arrive.
But then, when the shadow of candidates like Mano Polking or the duo Park Hang-seo and Lee Young-jin gradually faded, Mr. Phuong suddenly had a golden victory in the confrontation with championship candidate The Cong Viettel to help the "Red Battleship" get back on track.
In fact, Coach Phung Thanh Phuong always considers Ho Chi Minh City Club as his home. He was with the team from 2014 - 2019, contributing to bringing the team from the lower division to the V-League, before moving to Saigon Club at the invitation of his senior Hoang Van Phuc (Mr. Phuong used to be Mr. Phuc's assistant in the Vietnam U.23 team).
Nguyen Ha Long (29) scored against Hai Phong Club in round 5.
Professionally, Mr. Phuong is a dedicated and meticulous person. He has a gentle personality, always tolerant and knows how to listen to the players, so he always receives respect from the team, which has many former students from both Ho Chi Minh City and Saigon clubs. He resolutely devoted all his heart to asking the team's management to quickly resolve the signing bonus at the beginning of the season to quell the "internal turmoil" after coach Vu Tien Thanh left.
Thanks to that, the "Red Battleship" quickly kept a firm grip on the wheel, creating a surprise when it defeated championship candidate The Cong Viettel 2-0 and had a regrettable 1-1 draw against Hai Phong Club (the previous round had just defeated the defending champion CAHN 3-1).
Winning 4 valuable points has temporarily helped Ho Chi Minh City Club have 8 points and rank 6th on the rankings after round 5 of V-League 2023 - 2024. This is something that not many people think of when looking at the financial difficulties at the beginning of the season and the noisy departure of coach Vu Tien Thanh.
Ho Chi Minh City Club is looking to take advantage of a favorable match schedule to collect points.
Ho Chi Minh City FC will play away at Thanh Hoa on December 16, then have 2 home matches against opponents of equal strength, SLNA FC (December 22) and Hong Linh Ha Tinh (December 26). Ho Chi Minh City FC's goal is to try to earn at least 4-6 points in these 3 matches, so that they can confidently enter the break, when the V-League gives way to the Vietnamese team to prepare and aim for the Asian Cup.
Coach Phung Thanh Phuong said that at this time he is only focusing on working with his students and not thinking too much: "I accepted to return to Ho Chi Minh City Club to temporarily take charge for a few days, then when the foreign coach comes, I will support them in the role of assistant. My mindset is always very clear and ready about that.
I also did not expect that up to now I still have not "escaped" the interim role at Ho Chi Minh City Club. But that is not important, no matter what position I work in, I will do my best for the common good. I will try to prepare everything well so that the new coach will have the most favorable conditions to get started."
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