V-League 2024/25 and the first surprises

Both matches on September 14th witnessed surprising results compared to the predictions of experts and fans. In the earliest match at Ha Tinh Stadium, with a beautiful header that hit the net of Tran Nguyen Manh, rookie Adou Leygley Minh made defending champion Nam Dinh fall in the first match of the season.

Nam Dinh hastily registered Rafaelson as a naturalized player when the procedure was not yet completed, so the 2023/24 V-League top scorer could not play. "Handicap" the striker who scored 31 goals last season, including 3 goals against Hong Linh Ha Tinh, the attack line of the Southern team with Mpande - Hendrio - Van Toan became harmless on a day when this trio played below their ability. Obviously, without Rafaelson, Nam Dinh's attack line lacked vitality. Mpande and Hendrio Silva replaced the attack line but were not "red" enough to make a difference on the Ha Tinh field.

Meanwhile, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, despite almost changing their entire squad (saying goodbye to 10 players, bringing in 12 new players, including 3 foreign players and 1 overseas Vietnamese player), still maintained their fighting style of play. The Hong Song La team played bravely and enthusiastically against the defending champions. Overseas Vietnamese central defender Adou Leygley Minh left an impression on his first day in the V-League with excellent saves and the only goal that helped Hong Linh Ha Tinh win.

Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong was pleased with the quick integration of the 27-year-old Vietnamese-American rookie born in Grenoble: "We were introduced to Adou Leygley Minh last season but this season we only let him try out. At first he had difficulty integrating into the team, but he tried harder and harder. In the pre-season friendly, Minh made rapid progress so we decided to sign a contract. In this match, Minh played very well, he is one of the few Vietnamese-Americans who adapted to the V-League so quickly". Coach Hong Viet admitted that "the absence of Rafaelson significantly reduced our attacking power, the absence of this player is a big loss".

Perhaps, coach Nguyen Thanh Cong is good at living within his means, this has been proven many times before, but clearly Nam Dinh has not stopped depending on the upcoming top scorer named Viet Nguyen Xuan Son or has not warmed up yet. The goal of defending the throne of the team from Thanh Nam is facing challenges from the most humble names.

According to the valuation of the transfermarkt website, Nam Dinh's squad is worth 5.99 million euros, leading the V-League 2024/25. However, "the rich" are not necessarily happy. The more investment, the greater the pressure. Coach Vu Hong Viet not only has to help the team achieve results, but also faces internal competition, from the field to the locker room. Hopefully this misstep will not affect the opening match of the AFC Champions League Two when on September 18, Nam Dinh will visit the champion Hong Kong Lee Man.

Not only Nam Dinh, the team that won the National Cup last season, Thanh Hoa, also suffered a defeat at home against B. Binh Duong. Although the team had a good start with the opening goal in the first half thanks to Antonio, the power outage that followed seemed to signal bad luck for coach Velizar Popov and his team. Not long after the second half started, Nguyen Tien Linh scored 2 goals in 5 minutes, helping the away team have an impressive comeback to celebrate the day coach Hoang Anh Tuan officially joined the club.

In recent seasons, Thanh Hoa has left a deep impression with its fiery playing style as well as many times blocking the way of the big guys. Perhaps in this season's V-League, B.Binh Duong will replace Thanh Hoa to bring interesting colors to the tournament.

In the context of Nam Dinh, CAHN, Hanoi FC and B. Binh Duong becoming stronger, the remaining teams of V-League 2024/25 will certainly have less chances to compete for the title. But that does not mean that the "underdogs" can be underestimated. They must fight to stay in V-League at the end of the season.