The road to the throne of Song Lam Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - In contrast to the instability in the V. League, SLNA showed a completely different face in the National Cup. On the way to their 4th championship, Phi Son and his teammates made all opponents fear.

Que Ngoc Hai scored the opening goal of the match in the National Cup opening match against Dak Lak Club. Photo courtesy

Like many recent years, every time a new season begins, the worry of “food - clothing - rice - money” weighs heavily on the shoulders of the SLNA team’s coaching staff. The financial potential is not enough to own quality foreign players, and many foreign players even consider coming to SLNA as just a stepping stone with the aim of being transferred to clubs with more strength, more ambition and especially higher salaries and bonuses.

The team's strength mainly relies on the domestic players of the 9X generation and a few unfamiliar foreign names that have just been bought. Along with that, finishing V.League in 9th place and a playing style that is considered to lack enthusiasm from the players makes SLNA not highly appreciated.

However, contrary to the predictions of experts and fans, the Nghe An team had a breakthrough season in this year's National Cup.

Situation in the first leg of the semi-final against QNK Quang Nam (SLNA won 4-1). Photo archive

In the first match of the National Cup, against Dak Lak, although only playing with the "second team" with many players being in the first team for the first time such as goalkeeper Quang Dai, striker Viet Nguyen or Phu Nguyen... but SLNA still showed their mettle to win 3 - 1.

The National Cup opened smoothly and was also the "Spring opening" match. Coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team are confident on their way to the championship even though they have met many strong opponents with great desire.

Facing Hanoi FC - the reigning champion of V.League 2016, SLNA won 4 - 3 after a nerve-wracking penalty shootout. Next, in the quarter-finals, Phi Son and his teammates met Ho Chi Minh City FC. At this time, the team of President Le Cong Vinh, like SLNA, no longer had a goal in the V.League arena, so they gave great priority to the National Cup arena. However, with a team of evenly matched players with a fighting spirit and a thirst for victory, SLNA won 3 - 1 at Vinh Stadium. And when entering Ho Chi Minh City, Ngoc Hai and his teammates did even more when they defeated the team of President Le Cong Vinh with a score of 4 - 0.

Continuing their winning streak, in the semi-finals, despite facing a very strong opponent, QNK Quang Nam - the team at that time leading the V.League and the top candidate for the championship of the highest tournament in Vietnamese football, SLNA still surprised experts and fans when they won 4 - 1 at home.

The victory in the National Cup is a worthy result for the efforts of SLNA players. Photo: Canh Nam

With all the most difficult obstacles overcome, SLNA confidently entered the 2 final matches with B. Binh Duong - the one-time powerhouse of Vietnamese football in the context that this team really wanted to make up for a trophyless season.

However, right after the first leg away, the championship was almost firmly in the hands of coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team. At Go Dau Stadium, SLNA excellently defeated coach Tran Binh Su's team with a score of 2 - 1. In the second leg, SLNA poured in a rain of goals to bring home their third National Cup.

The coaching staff, players and many fans of SLNA football team celebrate the championship. Photo: Canh Nam

So another season has ended, although not achieving high results in the V.League, but in the National Cup arena, SLNA has become a real force, a "record holder" when owning 3 championship cups. Hopefully, after this "dose of doping", SLNA will soon find its golden age again, something that Nghe An fans always expect from their "favorite" team.

PV Group