Alan Grafite dominates the race for the V.League 2025-2026 top scorer title.
CAHN striker Alan Grafite is showing devastating form with 11 goals, creating a large gap with the chasing pack while domestic strikers like Hoang Duc and Tien Linh are facing many difficulties.
The race for the V.League 2025-2026 Golden Boot is witnessing an absolute dominance from foreign players. After nearly half the season, striker Alan Grafite of Hanoi Police Club (CAHN) has turned the league into his own playground with an impressive goal-scoring performance, far surpassing the promising domestic candidates.
The destructive power of Alan Grafite and the foreign players.
Alan Grafite is currently the leading contender for the Golden Boot this season. The Brazilian striker is dominating the scoring charts with 11 goals. The biggest highlight of his recent run of form was his hat-trick against Ninh Binh, which helped the CAHN player extend his lead over the chasing pack to four goals.
Alan Grafite's success stems from his versatile finishing skills and intelligent positioning. Furthermore, the pressure from other foreign players adds to the excitement of the race. Fred Friday (Ninh Binh) is currently close behind with 7 goals. The next group includes Joel Tagueu (Hai Phong), Leo Artur (CAHN), and Lucas Vinicius (The Cong - Viettel), all with 6 goals each.
The decline of domestic stars
In contrast to the rise of foreign strikers, the hopes of Vietnamese football are showing signs of stagnation. Nguyen Hoang Duc (Ninh Binh FC) is currently the league's top scorer with 5 goals. However, having to drop deeper to take on a playmaking role makes it difficult for the Vietnamese Golden Ball winner to compete directly in terms of goalscoring with true center forwards.
Even more concerning, top target strikers like Nguyen Tien Linh (Ho Chi Minh City Police FC) or Pham Tuan Hai (Hanoi FC) have only scored 3 goals each. There are several reasons for this situation:
- Teamwork style of play:Many teams prioritize building their systems around the attacking prowess of foreign players, inadvertently pushing domestic strikers further away from the goal.
- Fitness and stability:Some domestic players have not yet reached ideal physical condition or are suffering from persistent injuries.
- Competitive pressure:The arrival of high-quality foreign players requires domestic strikers to work even harder to secure a starting spot.
Given the current situation, the scenario of a domestic striker becoming the V.League's top scorer remains a distant goal. Fans will likely have to wait for groundbreaking tactical adjustments from the coaches to give Vietnamese strikers more opportunities to shine in the second half of the season.
