V-League: Championship candidates and relegation candidates

Both teams have many stars in the Vietnam national team and the U23 and U20 Vietnam teams, but for a long time they have been playing without motivation, without sharpness, with a loose defense and a dull attack... so the disastrous results as mentioned above are not surprising. Strangely, at the "upper levels", Mr. Duc and Mr. Ba have been extremely quiet for a long time, without a single word, whether to cheer, encourage, reward or even... scold (!).

Lam River, Nghe An. Photo: Chung Le's documents

The only difference is that Song Lam Nghe An dared to play, dared to win against Hoang Anh Gia Lai right at their home ground, and then returned to their old state, losing motivation, lacking cohesion and losing the match in vain. Could it be that these two teams are falling into a state of “weightlessness” in the V-League and will drift back to the right place, the right position at the end of this forgettable season?

Viettel's humiliating defeat at Hang Day Stadium. Photo: People's Army Newspaper

Speaking after the loss to Viettel at Hang Day Stadium after round 20, Kiatisuk implied that “everything will be up to Mr. Duc” while this boss, who is not at all secretive, is still as secretive as mentioned above. It seems like a football factory, a strong brand is gradually losing the best of itself after many years of building.

And remember, for a long time, at Song Lam Nghe An, only Huy Hoang was the "spokesman" for related matters, in which, this coach was not wrong when he said that "he will play well to show gratitude to the audience". Vinh Stadium also reduced ticket prices by half, even opened the door for free to students. But saying is one thing, shouting is another. As for the reality, like in the round 20 match against Saigon FC, the commentator of Vietnam Television raised the question "I don't understand why a classy defender like Ngoc Hai was so easily passed", leading to the home team's second loss in this match?

Look at Van Duc breaking through and passing the ball into an empty space, look at Dinh Tien playing so well in the previous 2 matches, but now he purses his lips and kicks the ball into the sky, it's absurd. Besides Olaha, Sy Hoang... are in a slump, luckily there is also Oseni who has scored continuously in 3 matches, but unfortunately the latest goal of this foreign striker has become meaningless when before that, the defense was high and careless more than once, "giving" 2 goals to the away team who are thirsty for points...

Statistics from the V-League Organizing Committee are showing a sad reality that even the loyal audience of Hoang Anh Gia Lai is turning away from their beloved team. The highest attendance in the match at Pleiku Stadium was up to 10,000 people, but in round 19 there were only 3,000 - 4,000 people cheering. With the poor result in round 20 at Vinh Stadium, it is difficult to expect Song Lam Nghe An to attract a large audience back.

Savvy fans must still remember a very forgettable "tradition" of Song Lam Nghe An: winning against strong teams, champions, but drawing or losing to weak teams, bottom teams! Van Quyen - Nhu Thuat's team once won against Dong Tam Long An on the day this team received the championship trophy, which is an example. Song Lam Nghe An is winning like a bamboo split, but when they return to Vinh Stadium, they draw or lose to bottom teams that are fighting for relegation, there are countless, from Khanh Hoa, Nam Dinh to Saigon FC recently.

Someone jokingly said that “taking from the rich to give to the poor”. But how can one be happy with such a way of playing that drives away the audience, right in one’s own holy land. Don’t give a reason here when the team has pushed up more than once and become prey for counterattacks to turn the game around (matches against Viettel, Dong A Thanh Hoa, Saigon FC…).

Maybe someone said it was an accident, a match to forget. But trust does not need justification, does not need anything. Losing trust, do not say to regain it overnight, or after a win, like the win over Hoang Anh Gia Lai, people also have the basis to see that, who does not win against a team that is going downhill at breakneck speed?

It's getting tough, not only Kiatisuk, but also the previous winner Huy Hoang, when now they are always "candidates" for failure, for relegation, for unfortunate, forgettable surprises?