Waiting for the mind-boggling battles at V.League 2021

In the past, foreign coaches always brought interesting nuances to the top football tournament in Vietnam. This year, the battle of wits between foreign and domestic coaches promises to be more balanced and attractive, because the new faces arriving are all highly appreciated.

At HAGL, the presence of Kiatisak is creating a new atmosphere. The former HAGL player has a deep understanding of Vietnamese football and the Mountain City team. This season, HAGL has invested heavily with highly rated contracts such as central defender Kim Dong-su, Washington Santos and the return of Cong Phuong.

Another team with a foreign coach is Ho Chi Minh City FC. Coach Alexandre Polking has dual German and Brazilian citizenship and has worked in Thailand for 7 years, helping turn Bangkok United into a force in the Thai League with 2 runner-up finishes. With quality players in the squad, Ho Chi Minh City certainly has championship ambitions.

Coach Ljupko Petrovic is the coach with the highest qualifications in V.League 2021. Photo: THFC

After a period of using a domestic coach, this time Thanh Hoa Club welcomes the return of coach Ljupko Petrovic. The Serbian coach is the highest-ranking coach working in V.League. He once helped Red Stard Belgrade win the C1 Cup - the predecessor of the UEFA Champions League. Mr. Petrovic once helped Thanh Hoa create a thrilling championship race in V.League 2017.

There are teams that keep their prize boat positions after V.League 2020 such as SLNA (Coach Ngo Quang Truong), Ha Tinh (Pham Minh Duc), Hanoi (Chu Dinh Nghiem), Nam Dinh (Nguyen Van Sy), Viettel (Truong Viet Hoang), SHB Da Nang (Le Huynh Duc), Hai Phong (Pham Anh Tuan)...

The common point of these coaches is that they all played in the same generation and were once famous players of Vietnamese football. They all left their own mark. Together with coach Nguyen Duc Thang of the rookie Binh Dinh, V.League will truly be a mind-boggling battle of former famous players.

In addition, we cannot fail to mention Coach Vu Tien Thanh with his achievement of bringing Saigon Club from a mid-level team to finish 3rd in V.League 2020. Or the presence of Coach Phan Thanh Hung at B. Binh Duong.

The matches between SLNA and HAGL in V.League 2021 are not only attractive because these are two good training centers of Vietnamese football, but Coach Quang Truong and Kiatisuk are also former teammates at the Mountain City team. Photo: ST

In a preliminary assessment, Coach Duc Thang, Huynh Duc and Coach Kiatisuk are the most expected and interested coaches in the V.League next season due to the strong investment of the owners. Without strong investment, SLNA of Coach Quang Truong is still very formidable after a year without turmoil and looking for stability.

In the first round of V.League 2021, Nam Dinh Club of coach Nguyen Van Sy will host Hanoi Club of coach Chu Dinh Nghiem. Thanh Hoa coach Petrovic will visit B. Binh Duong while SLNA will welcome coach Duc Thang and rookie Binh Dinh.

In the remaining matches, Coach Truong Viet Hoang and defending champion Viettel will welcome Hai Phong Club of Coach Pham Anh Tuan, Coach Le Huynh Duc will test Coach Alexandre Polking of Ho Chi Minh City Club at Hoa Xuan Stadium and most notably, the first match leading HAGL to play at Thong Nhat Stadium against Saigon Club of Coach Kiatisuk.

Official match schedule of Song Lam Nghe An in the first leg of V.League 2021

(Baonghean.vn) - The 2021 V.League National Championship, taking place from January 16, includes 14 teams. The competition format is divided into 2 phases. In phase 1, 14 clubs will play a round robin to determine the 6 leading teams in phase 1 (group A) to compete for the championship, while the 8 bottom teams (group B) will compete for relegation in phase II.