Công Phượng in the jersey of Yokohama FC, who parted ways with him on September 15. Photo Yokohama FC

Anh Đức

A common tale about the phoenix involves its rebirth from ashes. For former footballing prodigy Nguyễn Công Phượng, whose name literally means "phoenix", fans witnessed his fall from grace and are struggling to comprehend his first steps in the rebirth process.

After a year of failure at J.League's Yokohama FC, where he played zero league matches, Phượng now seeks a return to Việt Nam to play first-team football.

However, his perceived asking price of VNĐ24 billion (US$977,000) for a three-year contract got owners scratching their heads up and down the V.League.

Earlier in the week, Phượng was also ridiculed on social media after Yokohama's send-off post stated, "The players will surely miss the coffee prepared by Phượng in the locker room."

If the only value that a footballer is remembered for during his tenure is not his footballing skills, then the footballer has failed miserably.

Football expert and agent Jernei Karnensek, a former technical director at Bình Định FC, stated: "With VNĐ24 billion, Việt Nam can create ten Công Phượngs."

Karnensek's opinion, albeit hard to hear, is very practical. VNĐ24 billion is about two thirds of the annual funding for youth development at Sông Lam Nghệ An FC, a club that has teams from under-9s to under-21s, where about 215 players are training.

That money also equates to one third of what HAGL Chairman Đoàn Nguyên Đức invested to build an academy with Arsenal where Phượng himself was discovered and nurtured, and where the likes of winners Nguyễn Văn Toàn, Lương Xuân Trường and Vũ Văn Thanh were also produced.

It also does not help that Phượng's stock is dwindling without much playing time in Japan. The lessons of Nguyễn Quang Hải struggling to find his form in Hà Nội Police after his journey in France at Pau FC could repeat again.

Phượng, now 29, has his best days perhaps far away from him. Players such as Hải have taken up his spotlight and hype long ago, while younger stars such as Nguyễn Đình Bắc and Bùi Vĩ Hào are slowly claiming his position on the national team. It also does not help for Phượng that modern football currently has no place for a dribbler, but rather is looking for a finishing striker - a quality that fans did not see in Phượng for long.

As for merchandising and ticket sales, I believe that no team in Việt Nam are currently capable of making them their main sources of income, and they certainly will not equal their investments. Meanwhile Phượng is not the drawing power he was ten years ago. An investment in Phượng is not a good deal, and teams should be thinking hard rather than splashing out such ridiculous amount of money.

Fans of Phượng and Vietnamese football eagerly await the rebirth of the first 'Vietnamese Messi', but Phượng must be realistic and continue the grind to reclaim his rightful place, rather than make demands and risk another year of not playing football. VNS