Vietnamese forward not planning to leave Japanese club

Phuong has settled in Japan with his family. His wife To Ngoc Vien Minh is also building a career in Japan. The 29-year-old forward had a long-term plan when he signed a three-year contract with Yokohama FC, although the club was relegated to the J2 League recently.

In his first season with Yokohama, Phuong only took part in training and had just one appearance for Yokohama in injury time during a 2-3 defeat to Nagoya Grampus at the J. League Cup.

He wasn’t registered for any J1 League match, nor the Emperor’s Cup.

Due to his lack of playing time in Yokohama, Phuong was absent from the preliminary list of 50 Vietnamese players picked by coach Philippe Troussier for the 2024 Asian Cup. He was also not called up to the national team for training periods in October and November.

Earlier, coach Troussier told Phuong and forward Nguyen Van Toan, who were both playing abroad, that they must guarantee regular club football to get called up to the national team.

After Toan got very minimum playing time at South Korean club Seoul E-Land, Phuong advised his compatriot to stay and continue seeking more play. However, Toan decided to return to V. League club Nam Dinh FC.

Yokohama are building a plan for the new season with the goal of advancing back to the J1 League. Yokohama are considered to be among the strongest J2 League teams and are capable of getting promoted. The team extended coach Shuhei Yomoda’s contract another year, and kept many players, including Phuong.

This is Phuong’s second time in J2 League after playing for Mito Hollyhock in 2016, where he made five appearances with 80 minutes on the field.

Phuong is with his wife and son visiting relatives in Vietnam as Japanese football is on seasonal break. He will return to Japan at the end of December to prepare for the new season with Yokohama, starting at the end of February next year.

Phuong has played for more foreign clubs than any other Vietnamese footballer, including Mito Hollyhock and Yokohama in Japan, Incheon United in South Korea, and Sint-Truidense in Belgium.

Vietnam’s Luong Xuan Truong is next with stints at Incheon United and Gangwon FC (South Korea) and Buriram United (Thailand), and Dang Van Lam with HAGL Attapeu (Laos), Muangthong United (Thailand) and Cerezo Osaka (Japan).

Despite their efforts, neither Phuong nor Lam, nor any other Vietnamese player, has ever started a J1 League game.