Van Toan: 'Cong Phuong said the Korean prize was scary'

Van Toan has entered the second month of training at Seoul E-Land Club of Korea's K-League 2. Before that, the striker born in 1996 had to make a difficult decision when he broke up with HAGL - where he had been with for 15 years. "It was very difficult when I had to change teams and live abroad, but I had to overcome it for my future," Van Toan said at a press conference this afternoon on February 14. "I made such a choice, I needed a change, a new challenge."

Before Van Toan, two close teammates at HAGL - Nguyen Cong Phuong and Luong Xuan Truong - also went to Korea to try in K-League 1. Xuan Truong played for Incheon United in 2016 and Gangwon FC in 2017 respectively. , but played only six games. Cong Phuong is better off playing eight matches in the 2019 half season for Incheon United, but has yet to become the first Vietnamese player to score in Korea. "Cong Phuong and Xuan Truong told me that the Korean tournament is very scary. To succeed, I have to be strong," Van Toan revealed.

Besides his teammates, Van Toan also received advice from coach Park Hang-seo. He said the decision to choose to go to the K-League was because of Coach Park. Van Toan said: "Teacher advised me that as long as I don't lose confidence, I will succeed".

The striker from Hai Duong also revealed that the former Vietnam coach reminded him of the physical and strength-heavy style of football in the land of kimchi. "If I can adapt, I will have more opportunities," Seoul rookie E-Lan added. "The strategy for success is to use speed and intelligence, to reduce the disparity in fitness."

Van Toan is 1.70 m tall, has maintained a weight of 58 to 61 kg since about seven years, and has no intention of gaining weight.

At Seoul E-Land, Van Toan is led by Coach Park Choong-kyun - who used to lead Hanoi FC in the 2021 season and briefly worked as an assistant to Coach Park Hang-seo in the Vietnam team. The coach born in 1973 appreciates Van Toan's speed and technique and expects him to make many contributions to the game.

Van Toan also said that he likes K-pop culture and ranks Korea as a favorite. The thing that made him find it most difficult was adapting to the weather when he had just experienced a record cold winter with heavy snowfall. "I've stayed for the second month and haven't adapted yet," Van Toan said. "In short, I hate Korean winter. I have never felt so cold in Vietnam."

After the final second leg of the AFF Cup 2022 on January 16, Van Toan stayed in Thailand to gather and train with Seoul E-Land. After that, he returned to Vietnam to apply for a work visa and then flew to Korea on February 3. From today, February 14, Van Toan and the team started a two-week training tour in Changwon, before playing the opening match of K-League 2 on March 1 against Cheongju FC at Mokdong's home ground.