2025 Ballon d'Or: Dinh Bac challenges Hoang Duc and the national team's stars.
The shortlist of 5 candidates for the 2025 Vietnamese Golden Ball has been revealed, promising a dramatic race between the youthful energy of Dinh Bac and Trung Kien and the experience of veterans Hoang Duc, Tien Linh, and Quang Hai.
The 5 finalists have been revealed.
On the morning of December 23rd, the organizing committee of the Vietnam Golden Ball award announced the shortlist of 5 candidates for the 2025 title. This year's race is considered one of the most unpredictable, combining established stars with young talents currently in brilliant form.
The shortlist includes: Nguyen Dinh Bac, Tran Trung Kien, Nguyen Hoang Duc, Nguyen Tien Linh, and Nguyen Quang Hai. The inclusion of the two young players, Dinh Bac and Trung Kien, shows a nascent generational shift in Vietnamese football.
A breath of fresh air named Dinh Bac and Trung Kien
Attention is now focused on two young talents: Nguyen Dinh Bac and goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien. Both had impressive performances in 2025 and are no longer considered just promising players. Dinh Bac stood out in attack with 3 goals and 2 assists, making a significant contribution to Vietnam's gold medal win at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand. Meanwhile, Trung Kien demonstrated reliability and stability in goal.
At the club level, this duo was also a key factor in helping Hanoi Police advance deep into the AFC Cup and secure the runner-up position in the V-League, thereby creating significant pressure in the race for prestigious individual awards.
The mettle of veteran stars
Counterbalancing the youthful energy is the experience and class of the veteran players. Nguyen Hoang Duc, the 2023 Golden Ball winner, is showing top form, leading Ninh Binh to victory in the First Division and subsequently dominating the V-League 2025-2026 standings thanks to his excellent ability to control the game.
Meanwhile, the reigning 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Nguyen Tien Linh and midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai remain indispensable names. Despite some opinions suggesting their form is no longer as explosive as in previous years, both continue to prove their worth thanks to their tactical thinking and ability to create breakthroughs in crucial moments.
The race is fair and based on performance.
The expert panel emphasized that this year's Top 5 list is the result of a rigorous evaluation process, based entirely on data and actual performance throughout the year, eliminating subjective factors or past reputation. This makes the competition between youth and experience more intense than ever.
The winner of the 2025 Vietnam Golden Ball award will be announced at the awards gala, scheduled to take place at 6:30 PM on December 26th in Ho Chi Minh City.
