Chan Vathanaka has tried his best to adapt to a new life in Japan, after moving to Japanese J3 League club Fujieda MYFC in January on a one-year loan deal.
Despite not having many chances to play, it was a valuable time and a great learning experience for the golden boy of Cambodian football.
However, moving abroad for the first time, Vathanaka finds it difficult to learn and use language in communication with manager board and team-mates, as his interpreter can only help him with Japanese language off the pitch, according to Sabay News.
On the other hand, cold weather and the lack of experience also prevent the 24-year-old forward from catching up with the professional level of football like Japan.
With greater confidence and experience, the “Cambodian Messi” has expressed his great efforts to overcome those difficulties and gradually gained chances of getting on the scoresheet.
Vathanaka is currently on loan at Fujieda for the 2017 season from Boeung Ket Angkor.