Midifielder Nguyễn Phú Nguyên of Hải Phòng celebrates his goal against Nam Định in the V.League 1. Photo bongdaplus.vn

Football

HÀ NỘI —  Nguyễn Phú Nguyên's sparkling form has helped Hải Phòng FC become the surprise V.League 1 leaders as the season is paused due to the pandemic.

The midfielder struggled to make an impact for Sông Lam Nghệ An (SLNA) but has shone for the northern port city team.

In their only two matches so far this season, Hải Phòng defeated defending champions Viettel 1-0 and beat Nam Định 3-2 to rank first with six points in the top-flight.

Good start

At the beginning of this season, the 25-year-old player moved to Hải Phòng, but little was expected of the player as he didn't impress when on loan with the team in 2019.

But the second time he returned to Hải Phòng, he won the trust of coach Phạm Anh Tuấn and has shone as a left midfielder with goals against Viettel and Nam Định.

In the victory against defending champions Viettel at Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Nguyên scored the only goal of the match by netting the rebound after Andre Fagan's shot was saved by goalkeeper Trần Nguyên Mạnh.

In the match against Nam Định, the former SLNA player added a goal to a classy performance in midfield.

With his dynamism and agility, Nguyên has helped Hải Phòng's attacks become sharper and more unpredictable. Especially, when the foreign duo Diego Fagan - Jeremie Lynch is tightly blocked, Nguyên is a powerful and unexpected player of the team.

Difficult time

Nguyên was a key player for SLNA when the side won the National U17 Championship in 2012 under coach Ngô Quang Trường.

Seeing Nguyên’s good performance for the U19s and U21s, coach Nguyễn Đức Thắng selected him to compete for the senior SLNA squad in the 2016 V.League 1 season.

In his first season at the senior level, Nguyên played four matches and contributed one goal to SLNA.

However, in the following seasons, Nguyên was rarely used by coach Thắng and only appeared in the V.League 1 2017 once and V.League 1 2018 twice.

The midfielder struggled with consecutive injuries and didn’t have many opportunities to show his abilities. Even when coach Trường took over the senior SLNA team, Nguyên still couldn’t secure a regular spot in the team.

In 2019, Nguyên moved to Hải Phòng on loan contract but struggle for minutes, only making four appearances.

A year later, he returned to SLNA but was deemed surplus to requirements, despite being in good physical shape.

Midfielder Nguyễn Phú Nguyên is playing well in the jersey of Hải Phòng. — Photo www.baogiaothong.vn

Chance

Coach Park Hang-seo of the Vietnamese national team has complained about the lack of opportunities for young Vietnamese players in the V.League 1, particularly in attacking positions.

Nguyên is one example of an attacking player who has taken a rare opportunity and ran with it. Just how far he can take it is up to him. — VNS