V-League 2023: Strange but true stories

The team that lost 0-5 in the opening match was Binh Dinh, then won 3 consecutive matches, including an away win at Da Nang with one less player, to rise to the top of the table. Meanwhile, the team that won 5-0 against Binh Dinh in the opening match, Cong An Ha Noi, lost 2 consecutive matches and recently had a lucky draw at Pleiku to temporarily finish with 4 points, ranked 8th on the ranking table provided by VPF.

Hanoi Police lost two consecutive matches and recently had a lucky draw at Pleiku Stadium. Photo courtesy

On the other hand, the team that started with 3 consecutive losses was Ho Chi Minh City, seemingly "dead" at the bottom of the table, but in the 4th away match at Binh Duong, they had a precious victory, making coach Vu Tien Thanh "explode" enthusiastically, rising to 12th place, pushing the opponent down to the position right behind him in a spectacular way. Along with Binh Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City won away in round 4, Hong Linh Ha Tinh also won in a sweeter way against Hai Phong. Remember, this season, the team led by Mr. Thanh Cong drew with Hoang Anh Gia Lai at Pleiku Stadium, drew with Viettel at home, and only lost by a narrow margin to Hanoi FC, so their temporary ranking in 7th place is commendable in the current context of not receiving large investments.

The teams that won draws on away matches in round 4 include Song Lam Nghe An at Khanh Hoa Stadium, Thanh Hoa at Hang Day Stadium against Hanoi FC, Hanoi Police at Pleiku Stadium, Nam Dinh at Hang Day Stadium against Viettel... These are all draws but are worth watching because of the determination, even brutality of the players on both sides, high professional quality but the quality of the referees needs to be reviewed as many experts think.

Not the final results, but the above 4 rounds show that V-League 2023 is really attracting audiences and the press with positive, impressive performances, interesting surprises from the teams and outstanding individuals. In fact, Binh Dinh, Hanoi FC, Nam Dinh, Dong A Thanh Hoa are a formidable "four" in this tournament (close to each other with scores of 9-8) thanks to a convincing start, "warming up" early, everything gets into gear quickly to meet the assigned tasks. However, the group of teams ranked from 5th onwards including Viettel, Hai Phong, Hong Linh Ha Tinh and Hanoi Police (scored from 6-4) is only 2-4 points away from the group above, so with just 1 win, everything can change. It is noteworthy that due to the different goal difference, the team that only got 4 points ranked 8th like Hanoi Police, while Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Song Lam Nghe An or Khanh Hoa all got 4 points but ranked 9th, 10th, 11th. The notable difference is that SHB Da Nang with only 1 point, or Binh Duong with 2 points will have a very difficult time in the next rounds and it is unknown whether Lu Dinh Tuan or Phan Thanh Hung will be able to "stay in their positions" after this unexpected result?

Last season, with Rimario's goal-scoring performance, Hai Phong always led the rankings and eventually finished second in the V-League. But this season, Rimario still scored 4 goals in 4 matches for Binh Duong, yet the team from the land of Thu is "second" from the bottom, which is a strange but true story. It is also strange but very true that this season, despite changing the squad, despite the young and not yet integrated, Hoang Anh Gia Lai still repeats the way the seniors entered the match "only draw" like in previous seasons. Along with that is Song Lam Nghe An, only drawing after 4 matches despite having good players and potential young players...

Song Lam Nghe An, only tied after 4 matches despite having good players. Photo: Document

While Van Quyet scored 4 goals in 4 matches, contributing greatly to bringing Hanoi FC to second place, Vietnam's top striker Tien Linh has not had a single celebration and the risk of goal scarcity will continue. Along with Tien Linh's "drought" are strikers who were once considered hopes such as Tuan Hai, Van Duc, Duc Chinh... adding spice to the strange and real stories in V-League this season.

This season, Hanoi Police have had player Van Toan suspended for 3 matches for playing rough, now they have added Van Duc's name for a similar mistake in the match at Pleiku Stadium in round 4. Van Duc at Song Lam Nghe An is so good, so important, but now he is floating and sinking, hopeless to the point of being unrecognizable, it is a strange and real story and a sign of not being happy at the beginning of the season...

People are starting to look at the new coach Troussier of Vietnamese football and many stars of V-League 1 and 2, of U20 will be called. No matter how little or how much, the new coach will also pay attention to the reality of the V-League mentioned above to call who, leave who according to the perspective of a military leader. Being no stranger to Vietnamese football, strange and real stories will of course not be strange to this coach. Therefore, players who have not yet entered the V-League early, have not achieved the desired results need to quickly find themselves, assert themselves if possible, in any match, any moment under the scrutiny of scouts?