Bau Duc: 'I spent 2,000 billion VND on football'

Ho Chi Minh City At the club name change announcement ceremony today, Mr. Duc was happy to have a partner to share the financial burden, which can help the team and academy develop.

HAGL Club from now on has a new name LPBank Club - HAGL, associated with HAGL Group's partner, Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank - LPBank. This is the first time since being promoted to V-League that Mr. Duc's team has changed its name.

"Doing football is very complicated and expensive. After 22 years, I have spent about 2,000 billion VND," said Mr. Duc. "I am 62 years old this year, I can steer the team for another 10 years. However, I want the team and the academy to last forever. Therefore, after many sleepless nights, I think it is time for a change. I decided to find a partner with clear and stable financial capacity to develop the HAGL Club and Academy together."

Bau Duc said the two sides have signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement on all aspects of football sports. Perhaps in the future, the above-mentioned partner will inherit the team and academy.

Bau Duc (left) at the ceremony to announce the new name of HAGL Club. Photo: HAGL — Bau Duc (left) at the ceremony to announce the new name of HAGL Club. Photo: *HAGL*

Mr. Duc entered football in 2001, after buying the Gia Lai First Division team and changing its name to Hoang Anh Gia Lai. With the strategy of spending money to invest in star players, his team initially achieved success with two consecutive national championships (2002 and 2003).

In 2007, he built the HAGL Arsenal - JMG Football Academy on a 5-hectare land that had previously been planted with rubber trees that were ripe for harvest. Since then, he has spent tens of billions of dong each year on operating this training center, not to mention unusual expenses for long-term training trips abroad, improving the quality of the Academy and the management staff. In return, this training center has produced generations of famous players such as Nguyen Cong Phuong, Luong Xuan Truong, Nguyen Tuan Anh or Nguyen Van Toan...

During the corresponding period, the business orientation of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group also changed continuously, from focusing on real estate in the period of 2009-2012, to sugarcane in the period of 2013-2014, then to cattle in 2015-2016 and recently to the fruit and livestock business. Even in the most difficult times, even when bearing a debt of tens of thousands of billions of VND, Mr. Duc never included the club in the restructuring or divestment plan.

With a partner, he hopes HAGL will become a formidable team in the near future. "I alone have made it difficult for HAGL's opponents, but with another partner, the club will be even stronger," said the businessman from Binh Dinh. "Today, with coach Kiatisuk here, I want to tell him that this season is considered a waste, but next season he must win the championship."

Kiatisuk will return to lead HAGL from 2021. After the season was canceled due to Covid-19, last season the mountain town team did not compete successfully, even falling into the relegation group. This season, after two rounds, he and his students have only won one point. In round 3 tomorrow, November 3, HAGL will visit Binh Dinh. From this match, Mr. Duc's team will have a new shirt color and name.

Duc Dong

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