SLNA-FLC Thanh Hoa: 'Repaying favors' or 'causing resentment'

(Baonghean.vn) - On the afternoon of Saturday, August 13, Vinh Stadium will host the North Central derby between the home team SLNA and the away team FLC Thanh Hoa. All eyes are on Technical Director Le Thuy Hai and the former SLNA players in the new Thanh Hoa jersey. A reunion with mixed grudges, will there be a "return of gratitude" or "incurring grudge"?!

Exactly 5 years ago, in round 21 of V.League 2011, the home team Lam Son Thanh Hoa had a "rather confusing" loss to their neighbor SLNA with a score of 2-3. Immediately after the referee blew the final whistle, the Thanh Hoa audience reacted strongly. They pointed out that coach Le Thuy Hai was the main director of that loss because of his unusual use of personnel.

Public opinion was stirred up by rumors that Mr. Hai had intentionally helped the Nghe An team for personal reasons. Later, when Mr. Hai needed him, SLNA would repay that favor. However, those were just suspicions, because the truth remained hidden in the dark. But not long after the match ended, the Lam Son Thanh Hoa leadership decided to fire the strategist from Ha Dong, to appease the anger of the home audience.

Hoang Thinh will meet his old teammates again.

From the “scandalous” victory over the team of Mr. De, SLNA went straight to the championship when V.League 2011 ended. The third V.League trophy that coach Nguyen Huu Thang and his team won was somewhat tainted by the scandal from the ceiling of the Thanh Hoa stadium in round 21.

In the first leg of this year’s V.League, SLNA regretfully lost the victory on Thanh Hoa field due to the wrong decision of the main referee Ha Anh Chien. The penalty that Mr. Chien imagined caused the anger of experts and true football fans. Will the SLNA players be determined to reclaim what they lost on the away field in the upcoming return match, or will it just be a formality for them?!

In this 20th round, the Thanh team will travel to Vinh stadium in a situation not unlike the one the Nghe team encountered 5 years ago. After a long time competing for the top spot with only Hai Phong, FLC Thanh Hoa has now fallen into a "1 vs 2" battle with the teams of Mr. Hien (even 3-4). In such a situation, it is difficult for Mr. Le Thuy Hai and his students to make a difference, if... they do not have "allies". Once again, public opinion has the opportunity to gossip about the defeat half a decade ago that the team led by Mr. Hai "lo" suffered against the Nghe team.

Returning to the upcoming match at Vinh Stadium, while SLNA is in quite good form after 2 consecutive victories against the "miserable" HAGL and Long An. With 24 points in hand, Coach Ngo Quang Truong's students are quite far from the danger zone with a gap of 9 points. Besides, the task of entering the TOP 5 set at the beginning of the tournament is out of reach for the Nghe An team, when they lost to the 5th ranked team, Than Quang Ninh, by 9 points. Therefore, the fighting spirit of SLNA players in the next rounds is quite comfortable, to put it bluntly, it is just a formality. Therefore, it will not be too surprising if the Vinh Stadium team has matches below their ability.

On the other side of the front line, FLC Thanh Hoa did not have a stable performance. After a somewhat lucky victory over the visiting team XSKT Can Tho (3-2), HAGL was defeated 1-3 at Pleiku Stadium. Such unconvincing performances proved that: either the Thanh team does not have the ambition to win the championship, or is not strong enough to win the championship. Even Technical Director Le Thuy Hai also commented that FLC Thanh Hoa has no chance of winning the championship this season. But who knows, that might just be a trick of the veteran strategist from Ha Dong, to avoid public attention.

In this trip to Vinh Stadium, the FLC Thanh Hoa squad includes Nghe An natives Ngo Hoang Thinh, Tran Dinh Dong, Hoang Van Binh. These are not the first players who used to wear SLNA's shirt to return to face their old team. Previously, Le Cong Vinh, Duong Hong Son, Trong Hoang, Au Van Hoan, Hong Viet... have faced SLNA many times. Although they always show a professional style, each time they return to Vinh Stadium, they have an indescribable feeling. Many of them even asked their home team for permission not to play in the match against their hometown team.

It is likely that in the upcoming match between SLNA and FLC Thanh Hoa, Hoang Thinh, Van Binh and Dinh Dong can all play. They will have to go through indescribable emotions, like what their seniors have experienced in their previous "returns". Nghe An fans do not expect these players to play leniently, but only hope they do not have to witness offensive behavior like the way Ngo Hoang Thinh celebrated his goal in the first leg match between the two teams at Thanh Hoa Stadium.

Normally, derbies in Western or Vietnamese football are always extremely fierce, even though the meaning of the match is only honorable. But that has not necessarily happened in the North Central derby, between the representatives of Nghe An football and Thanh Hoa football. The ball has not yet rolled but public opinion has begun to doubt: whether or not, SLNA will "repay" Mr. Le Thuy Hai, the former SLNA players will not be able to play to their full potential because of their gratitude to their hometown team, or will it still be a tense match, just like a derby?!

Thanh Hung