V-League and the shift of football centers

In the past, People's Public Security Football was famous with the teams of Hanoi Public Security, Hai Phong Public Security, Ho Chi Minh City Public Security, not to mention Thanh Hoa Public Security... but now it has returned with a common name, which is also slow compared to the glorious tradition of this force. Meanwhile, Khanh Hoa was once the "dark horse" of V-League with the names Huu Dang, Quang Hai... but then struggled up and down, the group disbanded, and now even though it has returned, there is no basis to affirm that the coastal city football team will be more stable than before?

Khanh Hoa follows CAND Club in being promoted to participate in V-League 2023 season. Photo: Tienphong.vn

V-League 1-2022 is slower because there are more teams competing (13 compared to 12 and competing more continuously), so there are still 4 more rounds to go before the finale. When V-League 1 welcomes 2 more "newcomers" as mentioned above, it will also have to "push down" 1 member of V-League 2-2023, to ensure that next season there will be 14 participating teams. This is an undesirable "relegation" achievement and this is being aimed at the teams Saigon FC, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, Nam Dinh and Ho Chi Minh City.

With the remaining schedule, it is difficult to say which team has an advantage or disadvantage, because this depends on both the performance of the middle and top teams. When Hai Phong beat Hanoi FC in round 21, round 22 forced Hanoi to "defeat" SHB Da Nang if they do not want everything to go down the drain (that is why the winning team's manager went down to the field after the match to encourage... the losing team). With the current situation, mid-table teams like Hoang Anh Gia Lai or Song Lam Nghe An, Dong A Thanh Hoa or Binh Duong also do not have to fight to win a match? Therefore, it is not strange for these teams to share points with each other, or lose points at the last minute (like Dong A Thanh Hoa against Ho Chi Minh City).

In the "matrix" of the afternoon market, if Hanoi FC decides to finish 1 or 2 rounds early, it will be very difficult for any team to stop them. In fact, it is difficult for anyone to stop them, even though Hai Phong recently won, but that is still not enough to stop this team with the strongest force and the greatest ambition. At this time, Viettel is also considered to have ended its dream of defending the throne. The remaining 2 teams Hai Phong and Topenland Binh Dinh for the second and third race are worth mentioning? The reason is that these 2 teams have real strength and ambition in a very strange way and strangely they still achieved it. Hai Phong does not have an abundant young force, the number of players is mainly collected after Quang Ninh dissolved, after borrowing from Song Lam Nghe An to Hoang Anh Gia Lai. The steering position also has to "rely" on the person who just finished a successful cycle at Hanoi FC, Mr. Chu Dinh Nghiem. The ambitious and potential boss, the large and individualistic fans, the talented foreign players, the players who were "loaned" to play their best to prove that they did not deserve to be pushed away... all joined forces to make the port city team flourish at all times, everywhere. Entering the tournament, many eyes doubted that the first few matches would be good and then Hai Phong would return to its original position. But then "the little one was wrong" about everything, Hai Phong is taking impressive, steady steps, real but like a dream. The number of 22,000 spectators in the match against Hanoi FC at Lach Tray Stadium is a dream number, beautiful for the whole V-League.

Topenland Binh Dinh, with its rich potential to buy both good teachers and good students, has also risen in a rather "strange" way this season. The martial arts team has a tradition but has been lost for a long time, for example, they currently do not have a good goalkeeper in the home team's goal, and they do not have a teacher holding a sand table to direct the team. So they buy and borrow like Hai Phong is doing. They are having trouble when the teachers are good, the students are good but they are not in harmony, not yet united, but have to wait for time, wait for a better understanding of each other. They are moving towards the finish line but it is very possible that because of a serious mistake by the referee (the recent match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai, for example), the dream of winning the championship will be temporarily unfinished.

However, teams with plenty of strength, rich traditions, and no small amount of ambition like Hoang Anh Gia Lai or Song Lam Nghe An are facing days that are more unforgettable than ever. Losing the trust of themselves, of experts, and especially of fans - these are stern warnings not only for the two teams that have not known how to win for a long time and are walking towards the finish line with heavy, meaningless steps in the tournament that is considered the best in the region.

But after all, all the changes for Vietnamese football such as the way Hanoi FC affirmed its class, like the way Hai Phong or Topenland Binh Dinh rose to take the place of the hesitant, unoriginal and backward teams are more worth mentioning and happy than ever. That there are still many places, many people doing football seriously, receptively, for the audience, without any small calculations or personal interests. That football centers are always changing in an extremely interesting and attractive way as we are seeing and knowing./.

Chau Phu