Enough paradoxes make Vietnamese football the most bizarre in the world; Dinh Bac doesn't want to be relegated to the First Division because of money.
The wave of stars and former national players leaving V.League to go down to the First Division reflects the unusual fluctuations; Dinh Bac said he prioritizes playing in V.League. Those are the outstanding sports news in the past 24 hours.
Enough paradoxes make Vietnamese football the strangest in the world
Wave of stars, former national player quitV.Leaguerelegation to the First Division reflects the abnormality and fluctuations of Vietnamese football.
In the history of professional football in Vietnam, perhaps the National First Division has never been as exciting as the 2024-2025 season, even before the ball has rolled. The noise stems from the strange fluctuations of some emerging clubs. The season has not started yet, but the "outstanding" performance in the transfer market has helped these teams gain attention.
Nguyen Cong Phuong - the last of the "golden generation" stars to return from abroad - has just joined Binh Phuoc club. PVF-CAND welcomes Tran Ngoc Son, Nguyen Huy Hung, Le Ngoc Bao, Martin Lo... They are players who have played for the national team, U23 Vietnam, participated in major tournaments, affirmed their names in V.League and most of them are not yet 30 years old.
Ninh Binh Club paid The Cong Viettel billions of dong to buy Nguyen Hoang Duc when the current Vietnamese Golden Ball's contract only had 3 months left.
In the world, it is not uncommon for stars to leave the top environment to go to less prestigious tournaments in exchange for huge sums of money. However, there is no mention of players with seniority and position in the highest level playing field moving down to lower levels of the same tournament system.
Dinh Bac does not want to be relegated to the First Division because of money.
Striker Nguyen Dinh Bac said he would prefer to play in the V.League instead of joining a club that pays higher wages in the First Division.
"I think I will still prioritize playing in the V.league," striker Nguyen Dinh Bac said in an interview before the Vietnam national team's training session on the afternoon of October 8 when asked about his choice of whether to play in the First Division if he was paid a higher salary than he is now.
Recently, some players have chosen to join First Division teams with higher salaries. This has raised concerns about the decline in performance of Vietnamese players in the future, especially in the context that the national team has not yet formed a clear playing style under coach Kim Sang-sik.
Also on the afternoon of October 8, Dinh Bac affirmed that he had regained his best physical condition and showed his determination when he had the opportunity to join the Vietnam national team.
Paqueta could be banned for life
Lucas Paqueta may no longer have the chance to play professional football after evidence against the Brazilian midfielder.
A year ago, Paqueta handed over his personal phone to the Football Association (FA) as part of an investigation into match-fixing. During that time, Paqueta bought a replacement phone. When the FA returned the original phone, the Brazilian midfielder threw it away.
The FA later requested more access to Paqueta's phone because there was more information the investigation team wanted to examine, but he claimed it could not be found.According toThe Sun, Paqueta's decision added to his punishment.
The FA has charged him with obstructing an investigation, including two serious breaches of conduct for failing to cooperate with the investigation. The 27-year-old midfielder is likely to be banned for life for this aggravating factor.
Earlier, the English football governing body confirmed that there was sufficient evidence that the West Ham midfielder had fixed the match results. He was inexplicably booked in four Premier League matches against Leicester City, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth between November 2022 and August 2023.
MLS breaks attendance record
Major League Soccer (MLS) 2024 witnessed a record number of spectators, when more than 11 million people went directly to the stadiums to watch Lionel Messi and his colleagues compete.
With 16 games left in the MLS regular season, Major League Soccer has already broken its attendance record, with more than 11 million people attending. Last season, MLS recorded 10,900,804 fans.
However, this season, MLS easily broke the above record. According to the assessment fromUSA Today, the attraction of international superstars such as Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) or Hugo Lloris, Olivier Giroud (LA FC), Marco Reus (LA Galaxy) is the main driving force behind the growth in audience.
