Hanoi FC won the championship, Ho Chi Minh City FC lost, and Chairman Duc was right!

"If Ho Chi Minh City wins the championship, I'll lose everything, I can say that with certainty. No one will let that team win. Why? Because they can't possibly compete against five other teams alone; that's impossible. Just ask yourself, is there anywhere in the world where one person can fight five? Show me a place. Even if they're all sick, five sick people fighting one healthy person will still lose."

Vietnamese football will never improve unless that issue is resolved, that's the truth. And the truth is, HAGL also lacks the motivation to strive for the championship. There's absolutely no motivation."

In fact, the issue of one owner controlling multiple football teams is not new. However, it remains a difficult problem for Vietnamese football. Previously, Xuan Thanh Saigon FC also requested that the VFF and VPF handle the situation fairly regarding one owner controlling two teams (Hanoi FC and Da Nang FC) after missing out on the championship in the final round of the 2013 V.League.

Otherwise, Chairman Thuy would abandon football. True to his word, XTSG Club disbanded. A tumultuous breakup that left many significant repercussions for Vietnam's top professional league. Then, FLC Thanh Hoa invested in football, losing hundreds of billions of dong hoping to win the V.League, but ultimately failing.

On the day he retired from football, Mr. Trinh Van Quyet pointed out the long-standing problems of the V.League. This is believed to be due to an "unhealthy" competitive environment in Vietnamese football, as Thanh Hoa Club is the only club of its kind.

"We realized that even with continued investment and even more money, FLC Thanh Hoa alone certainly couldn't win the championship. There's a delicate issue here, so I can't say it directly, but no matter how hard we try, we can't hope to win the V.League," Mr. Quyet shared with the press.

Chairman Duc had previously stated that Ho Chi Minh City FC could not possibly win the V.League 2019 championship. Photo: Van Nhan

Before Chairman Duc made those remarks, Ho Chi Minh City FC was leading the V.League 2019 standings with 8 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses. They averaged 1.3 goals per match and conceded 0.77 goals per match.

Following Chairman Duc's statement, Ho Chi Minh City only managed 4 wins out of 10 matches, consistently drawing and losing to bottom-ranked teams. This included a 0-2 defeat against Quang Nam, who had just been reinforced with Hoang Vu Samson from Hanoi FC. Their goal-conceding rate doubled to 1.5 goals per game, and they lost the championship to Hanoi FC.

Ho Chi Minh City FC first has only themselves to blame for failing to capitalize on their opportunities, especially in matches against Thanh Hoa, Khanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, and Viettel. However, coach Chung Hae Seong's team often finds itself at a disadvantage when facing the teams that Chairman Duc was referring to.

Hanoi FC had no rivals in the V.League 2019. Photo: Thanh Cuong

However, after Hanoi FC defeated SLNA to win the championship two rounds early, things became dull and uninteresting. Mr. Hien's team won the title for the fifth time, but clearly, Mr. Duc's earlier statements had dampened the enthusiasm of V.League fans for the league and the way Hanoi FC achieved the championship.

First, when things were still unclear, Chairman Duc was correct in never setting a championship goal for HAGL. Because in the V.League, if you play with a focus on attacking football, don't even think about winning the championship. Now that Hanoi has won the championship, what Chairman Duc said was true!

V.League 2019: Which team has the strength to stop Hanoi?

(Baonghean.vn) - Before the 2019 season kicked off, the most intriguing question for many fans was which team had the potential to challenge Hanoi FC for the championship. Many teams have made thorough preparations; let's take a look at some of the names considered to have a high chance of challenging the capital city's team.