Will striker Anh Duc save V.League 2017?

(Baonghean.vn) - If Anh Duc becomes the top scorer this year, a question arises: Where will Vietnamese football go when a 32-year-old "veteran" becomes the top scorer?

It has been a long time since a domestic player had the chance to win the Golden Boot award. In the V.League, for the past 16 years, only in the first two seasons, Dang Dao (Khanh Hoa) and Ho Van Loi (Saigon Port) were the domestic players who won this honor. Of course, that was when the V.League first opened, there were not many quality foreign players.

14 seasons later, foreign strikers have been dominating the league, even domestic players have had difficulty entering the top 5. Only in the 2009 V-League, Le Cong Vinh came close to the title of top scorer when he scored 14 goals, only 1 goal behind the top two strikers Merlo and Lazaro.

In the 2017 V-League, which is reaching its peak, if the race for the championship, Hanoi, Quang Nam and FLC Thanh are on the same score, then the individual title of Top Scorer is when Anh Duc (B.Binh Duong), Nsi (XSKT Can Tho) and Errol Stevens (Hai Phong) also have 14 goals.

In recent years, VPF has had a policy of reducing the number of foreign players to give domestic strikers the opportunity to develop. However, "a hundred torches cannot light a frog", except for HAGL with Mr. Duc who is quite determined in his policy of not using foreign players as strikers, the remaining teams use at least 1 foreign player.

Anh Duc is currently leading the list of top scorers with Nsi (XSKT Can Tho) and Errol Stevens (Hai Phong). Photo: Internet

However, even with the torch shining to search for talent, there is still no sign of it. National players Ha Duc Chinh, Tuan Tai and many young players have a hard time getting on the field, let alone competing for the top scoring title.

The 32-year-old veteran from Binh Duong has 14 goals and is competing fiercely with Errol Stevens and Nsi. Compared to the two foreign players, Anh Duc is at a disadvantage, all three are playing away, but Nsi (XSKT Can Tho) and Errol Stevens (Hai Phong) only have to face Long An and Saigon, while Binh Duong has to face Sanna Khanh Hoa BVN, a team with a higher ranking.

Looking at the list of scorers, in addition to the 3 names mentioned above, we have to go through 5 more foreign players to reach Van Quyet, the domestic player with the 2nd most goals with 9 goals, 5 goals less than Anh Duc.

However, the rise of a 32-year-old player is also a sad and alarming reality for domestic strikers. Although V-League has limited the number of foreign players and some teams like Saigon, HAGL prioritize the striker position for domestic players, the competition in the individual race of domestic players is quite weak.

In recent years, many foreign players in the V-League have moved to Southeast Asian countries, and there are not many quality players. But the image of Anh Duc standing alone among countless foreign players such as Nsi, Stevens, Uche, Claudecir or Pape Omar in the list of goal scorers is a bit sad.

Anh Duc is making an impressive comeback in the Vietnamese national team. Photo: Internet

If Anh Duc becomes the top scorer this year, it will certainly be a great joy for the audience, for Anh Duc himself and the domestic players. Both VFF and VPF will certainly be very satisfied.

But then people will suddenly ask: Where will Vietnamese football go when a 32-year-old "veteran" becomes the top scorer? And will the policy of restricting foreign players in Vietnamese football for so long bring any results?

AT