V-League 2022 and the story of the end of the season.

At the bottom of the table, the opportunity to escape relegation remains open for all 3-4 teams currently at the bottom, such as Saigon FC, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, Ho Chi Minh City, and SHB Da Nang. If just one of these teams gets relegated, a single good result in one match could turn things around. No one dares to name a specific team that is most at risk, but Hong Linh Ha Tinh seems to face more difficulties due to their limited squad and insufficient resources for relegation.

The races at the top and bottom of the table should have attracted more attention, but currently, the most noteworthy and regrettable aspect lies in the middle of the table, where teams that have already secured their survival in the league have the opportunity to "give away" points to teams that "need" them. These teams have shown a lack of motivation since the second half of the season, most notably Hoang Anh Gia Lai, which has gone more than ten matches without a win, followed slightly by Song Lam Nghe An, and recently added to the list is Dong A Thanh Hoa.

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

Without clear goals (or loudly proclaiming them but acting in the opposite way), and lacking motivation, good results become a luxury. This leads to a situation that's both ironic and laughable: leaders, coaches, star players… take turns proclaiming that once you're in a match, you want to win, that no one wants to lose, that you're decent, that you'll never betray anyone, that you'll boast about your achievements, and so on… Only the results are the opposite, causing fans in Pleiku, then Vinh, then Thanh Hoa… to turn their backs on their beloved team. The fans of the Pleiku team were once so numerous and loyal…Lam River, Nghe AnIn both the North and South, there were times when various fields were "covered in gold"... but now it's difficult to expect everything to remain intact and undamaged.

Why does the story of teams playing exceptionally well in the first leg, accumulating enough or even more points to play however they want in the second leg, ignoring whatever anyone says, and even daring to challenge others, as in the case of the three mid-table teams mentioned above, continue to unfold without any positive measures being taken?

The V-League organizers recently announced that, in addition to ensuring safety and security for the final matches, they are also focusing on professional standards and the spirit and attitude of the players. While not naming anyone specifically, they explicitly stated, "Special attention should be paid to negative behaviors such as deliberately conceding points at the end of the season." This is a well-known issue, and mentioning it is certainly not superfluous, but the specific measures, who will do what, where, and which areas are most "sensitive" and require special monitoring... were not mentioned or warned about.

In recent training sessions, SLNA coach Huy Hoang has experimented with various formations. Photo: Chung Le

And it's impossible to say anything when many teams are struggling but leave their foreign players idle, or when teams desperately need points but send a whole host of young players to train for next season (it's uncertain whether they'll be retained, whether they'll be coached by the same coach or a new one, or even whether the team will survive or disband…), or when teams bench a whole host of key players for no apparent reason… That's why we see Hoang Anh Gia Lai losing to Ho Chi Minh City at home, and then Dong A Thanh Hoa losing to the same team desperate for points at home, and Song Lam Nghe An also being linked to that team… Is V-League football just going on normally, without anything to worry about or talk about? Let's assume that's the case, but surely the majority of discerning fans wouldn't, never. They, with their intense and unbiased love of football, will know how to find a place where there is honesty and loyalty to find joy after a week of hard work and commotion.

Those were the matches at Lach Tray Stadium with 22,000 cheering spectators, the final whistle still echoing with proud songs, a spirit of togetherness, moving forward, ignoring the nonsense that is tarnishing the beauty of the king of sports. Most notably, there's the issue of teams in the middle ranks conceding points – teams that aren't inferior but certainly not the best, actions that, though concealed and hidden, cannot escape the discerning and objective gaze of fans and experts.