With a billion dollar investment, can Cong Vinh help Ho Chi Minh City Club "pass the gate of heaven"?

Cong Vinh gradually understood that if the team did not improve professionally and languished at the bottom of the rankings, even if the game was open for free, no one would watch.

It can be said that inviting former coach of Vietnam national team - Mr. Toshiya Miura and replacing coach Alain Fiard to lead the team is a victory of Cong Vinh. After 1 year of being at the forefront, using many tricks to attract spectators to the stadium, from personally selling tickets to repairing the restroom, changing the appearance of the dressing room to inviting singers to the field to entertain before the match... but the stands are still empty. Cong Vinh gradually understands that if the team does not improve professionally and is sluggish at the bottom of the rankings, even if the entrance is free, there will be no spectators.

"Change" the squad

The defense of Ho Chi Minh City FC this season will be a pair of young and old central defenders, Dinh Luat and Ngoc Thinh. Captain Dinh Luat, 35 years old, is a pillar full of experience and bravery in battle, while Ngoc Thinh has a tall body and decisive playing style. The two wings are Ngoc Duc and Au Van Hoan, although limited in height, but in return, they play very hard, true to Nghe. Goalkeeper Thanh Diep - former U23 Vietnam player played very well at XSKT Can Tho and is facing a great opportunity to make a strong push in the shirt of Ho Chi Minh City FC.

Phi Son is a valuable contract of Mr. Vinh. Photo: Internet

It was not difficult for coach Toshiya Miura to find the main midfield lineup, with Phi Son and Huynh Van Thanh, his former students, on the wings. Phi Son is a famous junior player in SLNA's shirt in the past few seasons, and has been watched by boss Cong Vinh for a long time in the team's rebuilding campaign.

Central midfielder Paulo Tavares - a former teammate of Cong Vinh in Portugal, who pushedRodrigo PossebonThe return home is considered an unknown. Meanwhile, Van Thuan, who played with Saigon FC last year, showed his poise in playing football and his role in controlling the match with his passes and powerful finishing skills.

On the attack line, alongside veteran Gonzalo, a former player of Hanoi FC is Gustavo - who played in both J1 and J2 League of Japan. Player Gonzalo, born in 1984, is being promoted by Ho Chi Minh City Club to acquire Vietnamese citizenship and was invited to Thong Nhat Stadium perhaps because of his great experience in the field.

Meanwhile, Brazilian striker Gustavo Santos Costa, born in 1996, with a height of 1m77, is the number 1 hope in the attack line in the ambition to "cross the gate of heaven" of the Thong Nhat Stadium team. Names such as Thanh Binh, Hoang Phuong, Huu Tuan... are also ready to enter the field when the coaching board requests.

Which way?

Coach Miura always favors a physical style of play. Photo: Internet

Recently, Ho Chi Minh City Club has invited a fitness expert who has worked with the Vietnamese national teams for a long time - Mr. Martin Forkel. Certainly, when inviting Toshiya Miura and Martin Forkel to work at Thong Nhat Stadium, Cong Vinh wanted to build an attacking, physical style of play. Cong Vinh wants Ho Chi Minh City audiences to quickly forget the defensive, passive counter-attacking style of play under coach Alain Fiard. That has been confirmed by the very heavy training of Ho Chi Minh City players in the pre-season. This team also has 2 doctors to take care of the health of the players during training and competition.

Besides the "foreign player triangle" Paulo Tavares - Gonzalo - Gustavo, the "satellites" Phi Son, Van Thanh, Van Thuan will be allowed to show off their technical qualities. The playing style of Ho Chi Minh City under coach Miura will become more varied and unpredictable because the Thong Nhat Stadium team has many players who can play in many positions.

With a billion-dollar investment, will Cong Vinh be able to help Ho Chi Minh City "pass the gate of heaven"? We'll have to wait and see!