V.League: The sadness of Tay Do football
(Baonghean.vn) - XSKT Can Tho is the only representative of football in the Mekong Delta region to participate in V.League 2018. Unfortunately, the team from the Western Capital region could not successfully stay in the league.
The 1-1 draw with direct opponent Nam Dinh in the final round caused coach Vu Quang Bao and his team to receive a ticket to be relegated. Meanwhile, in the 2018 National First Division, representatives of Western football such as Long An and Dong Thap could not win a ticket to return to the highest level of Vietnamese football - V.League.
Thus, in V.League 2019, there is no football team from the Mekong Delta. This is an extremely sad thing for Western football fans!
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| Long An used to be a force in V.League, winning the championship twice. Photo: Internet |
Since the National Football Championship was established (1980), during the past 35 seasons (1988 was not organized and 1999 was only the Spring Training Tournament), only 3 seasons 1981/1982, 1985 and 1986 were without representatives from the Mekong Delta region.
Even in the 1989 season, Western football had 4 teams: Dong Thap, An Giang, Tien Giang and Long An. In the V.League era from 2000 to 2018 alone, every season had at least 1 Western football team participating.
Although not as successful as the football teams in the Southeast, North or Central regions, the Western teams still occasionally make a strong impression. For example, Dong Thap won the National Championship twice (1989 and 1996), Long An won the V.League twice in a row (2005 and 2006). Objectively speaking, Dong Thap and Long An are two of the most successful teams in Vietnamese football to date.
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| Phan Van Tai Em contributed greatly to the Vietnam National Team's 2018 AFF Cup championship. Photo: Internet |
In the past, football in the Mekong Delta region has produced many talents and contributed to the national teams. Typical examples are Huynh Quoc Cuong, Tran Cong Minh… in the 90s of the last century; Phan Van Tai Em, Phan Thanh Binh, Bui Tan Truong… in the past 15 years. However, at this time, players born in the West rarely appear in the U23 Vietnam and Vietnam national teams.
Through what has just been mentioned, it can be seen that football in the Mekong Delta is lagging far behind other regions. For now, in the 2019 season, no representative of the Western region will be able to compete in the V.League arena.
I wonder when Dong Thap, Long An… will be able to return to the most prestigious football playground in the country? This question is for those who work in football in the Mekong Delta./.
