V-League 2022 and the end of the season story

At the bottom, the chance to escape is still open for all 3-4 teams currently at the bottom such as Saigon FC, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, Ho Chi Minh City or SHB Da Nang, only one of these teams drops in rank so just one round with good results, everything will turn around. Currently, no one dares to say which specific team is most at risk, but it seems that Hong Linh Ha Tinh will have more difficulties when the force is not abundant, the doping resources are not large...

The top and bottom races should have attracted a lot of attention, but now the sad thing is that the middle teams, where the teams have settled down to stay in the league, have the opportunity to "give" points to the teams "in need". People have seen these teams lose their motivation to compete since the second leg, the most typical is Hoang Anh Gia Lai with dozens of matches without knowing what victory is, Song Lam Nghe An lost a little bit and Dong A Thanh Hoa recently added to the list.

Song Lam Nghe An players are ready to welcome Binh Duong at Vinh Stadium on the afternoon of November 3. Photo: Duc Anh

No clear goals (or say very loudly but do the opposite), lose motivation to strive, so good results are a luxury. Then there is a phenomenon that makes people laugh until they cry: leaders, coaches, star players... take turns shouting that when they go to battle, they want to win, that no one wants to lose, that they are kind, never betray anyone, that they tell stories about achievements, that... Only the results are the opposite, so that one by one the audience of the Mountain City, then Vinh City, then Thanh Hoa... turn around and "turn around" from their beloved team. The fans of the Mountain City team used to be so numerous and loyal, the fansLam River Nghe AnIn the South and the North, this yard and that yard were once "gilded" but now it is difficult to expect everything to be intact and unscratched.

Why is it that the story of playing really well in the first leg, accumulating enough or having extra points to play however they want in the second leg, ignoring whatever anyone says, even daring to challenge, like the story of the 3 middle-ranked teams mentioned above, still happens without any positive measures?

The V-League Organizing Committee has just recently announced that, in addition to ensuring safety and security for the final matches, it also focuses on professional work and spirit and attitude in competition, in which, although not naming anyone, it also directly states "pay special attention to negative manifestations of giving up points at the end of the season". Everyone knows that this is not new, of course it is not redundant to mention it, but what measures, who does what, where, which places are the most "sensitive", need special supervision... are not mentioned or warned.

In SLNA's recent training sessions, coach Huy Hoang has experimented with many different team formations. Photo: Chung Le

And it is also impossible to say anything when many teams are playing in a desperate situation but let foreign players "sit around and do nothing", need points but let a series of young players train for next season (not knowing whether they will be retained or not, whether it is the old coach or the new coach, or even whether the team will survive or disband...), then this team or that team removes a series of key players without a clear reason... That is why Hoang Anh Gia Lai lost to Ho Chi Minh City at home, then also at Dong A Thanh Hoa's home field lost to the aforementioned team that was thirsty for points, then Song Lam Nghe An was also involved with that team... Is it true that V-League football is flowing normally, with nothing to worry about or talk about? Let's assume that is the case, but surely the majority of discerning audiences say no, never. They themselves, with their intense and selfless love for football, will know how to find a place where there is honesty and loyalty to find joy after a week of hard work and noise.

Those were the matches at Lach Tray Stadium with 22,000 cheering spectators, at the end of the match there was still a proud singing, together, moving forward, ignoring the nonsense somewhere that is destroying the beauty of the king sport. Most noteworthy is the story of giving up points to the middle teams, the teams that are not bad but certainly not the best, the behaviors that although covered up, hidden but will not be able to get past the discernment and objectivity of fans and experts./.