V.League 2018: Some are enthusiastic, others are indifferent

Preparing for the 2018 season, clubs that once dominated the V.League such as Binh Duong (4 times V.League champion) and Hanoi (3 times V.League champion) did not make any moves to buy new players, and even let their star players leave.

Some other teams that used to have ambitions in the race for the V.League championship, such as Da Nang, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh, are now not interested in the new season. The proof is that after Huynh Duc resigned, Da Nang invited coach Minh Phuong (who had just been relegated with Long An Club to the First Division) to take over the team just to let things go, while Quang Ninh and Hai Phong also let some key players leave.

Meanwhile, emerging clubs like Thanh Hoa and Ho Chi Minh City are trying to buy players and hire foreign coaches. Le Cong Vinh's Ho Chi Minh City club even invited German fitness expert Martin Forkel and coach Miura to help.

According to experts, after a period of enthusiastic investment in football, many sponsors, as well as the owners of some football teams in the V.League, are starting to feel out of breath and somewhat discouraged because investing in football is like "throwing money out the window". The money is lost in the tens, even hundreds of billions of dong each year, and if not careful, it can also "result in" when football players do not care about playing but only care about transfer fees and bonuses for each match, leading to high bonuses, playing hard, but without bonuses, playing moderately, even selling the whole match.

This season, Hanoi Club (white shirt) of Mr. Hien is being cautious in buying players. Photo: Duc Dung

While the professional quality is declining, the stands have no spectators, but salaries, bonuses, and signing-on fees for players still have to be paid regularly. In order not to be accused of “running away from the sponsors”, the owners have had to switch to a “living on a shoestring” policy and contract according to the style of “eating smart to be full, dressing smart to be warm”.

Therefore, coaches and club leaders have to "cut their coat according to their cloth" and no longer have money to "spend lavishly" on players like we often saw before, but have to accept "making do with it", living day by day.

Fortunately for V.League, there are still a few teams with "new owners" who need to polish their brands and achievements, such as TP HCM and FLC Thanh Hoa, who are determined to invest in order to enjoy the feeling of winning the V.League, something that some previous owners were very enthusiastic about but now feel "that's enough"!