Impressions of Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh clubs
Looking at the players' pleas for help due to late salaries, bonuses and signing bonuses in August, few people would have thought that Thanh Hoa FC would now be sitting comfortably at the top of the V-League after round 8. At this point, they have 17 points, 1 point more than Nam Dinh FC (16 points) and far ahead of Hanoi FC (13 points), The Cong Viettel (12 points), Binh Duong (11 points)... If they defeat the bottom team Da Nang in round 9, the Thanh team will enter a break of more than 1 month with the top position. That is an attainable result when coach Popov owns the second strongest attack and the defense is also in the top group, having only conceded 7 goals since the beginning of the tournament. This result is even more impressive when knowing that Thanh Hoa FC has been forced to replace 12 new positions and lost key striker Rimario since the beginning of the season. This shows the management talent of the Thanh Hoa team's board of directors, when helping the team overcome financial difficulties, especially successfully retaining coach Popov.
Thanh Hoa Club (left) is on top of the table thanks to having the second strongest attack in V-League.
If Thanh Hoa Club has a foundation of 3 championships including 2 National Cups and 1 National Super Cup in the previous 2 seasons, then the 3rd place on the ranking of Ha Tinh Club can be considered a miracle. Last season, this club seemed to have gone through a storm, from the scandal of a group of players using banned substances to struggling in the relegation battle. Having to work very hard and thanks to the brilliance of experienced players, Ha Tinh Club won 3-2 in the play-off match with PVF-CAND Club to stay in the league at the last minute. It seems that the lessons of last season have helped this team become more alert and wise, with quality additions such as Geovane, overseas Vietnamese center-back Leygley Minh or midfielder Viktor Le to help create changes in the playing style. The spectacular rise of Ha Tinh Club has breathed new and exciting air into the top race when big names such as Hanoi Club, Hanoi Police, Nam Dinh, Binh Duong, The Cong Viettel have not found stability.
N RECOVERY RACING GROUP REVEALED
Nearly 1/3 of the 2024-2025 V-League has passed and we can say that SLNA, Hai Phong Club and Da Nang are the teams that have to compete for relegation. All three teams have their own problems, have never enjoyed the taste of victory and share the bottom 3 positions.
Among them, SLNA is the most dangerous. The Nghe An team has just had to change coaches when coach Phan Nhu Thuat replaced coach Pham Anh Tuan, who resigned because he could not help the team overcome difficulties. However, SLNA has not been able to change their fortunes as they only managed a draw against Quang Nam Club. SLNA's "homegrown" players are full of potential but still lack experience and battle prowess, so it is difficult to recover in difficult times.
The quality of Da Nang FC's players is not better than SLNA's. However, the Han River team still has a number of experienced players who can be a support in terms of expertise and spirit, such as Dang Anh Tuan, Phan Van Long, Le Quang Hung or Luong Duy Cuong. The biggest weakness of the Han River team is the foreign players. Striker Yuri has not scored any goals, missing 2 penalties. Center back Marlon seems to have forgotten his form at Binh Dinh FC when he has not become a solid support in the defense, causing Da Nang FC to be the team that has conceded the most goals in the tournament (16 goals). Meanwhile, midfielder Werick, although having 3 goals, has not created a connection between the lines.
Hai Phong FC is considered the team with the highest chance of staying in the league in this group. However, coach Chu Dinh Nghiem has a lot of experience and the team has "good players" in the squad such as striker Lucao (with 6 goals since the beginning of the season), goalkeeper Dinh Trieu, center back Van Toi, midfielders Hoang Nam and Huu Son. The disappointing streak of the port city team is partly due to the absence of captain Trieu Viet Hung due to injury. Once this "conductor" returns, Hai Phong FC can improve its performance. Moreover, club president Van Tran Hoan also put his full trust in coach Chu Dinh Nghiem when he affirmed that there is no way Hai Phong FC will "change generals" in the middle of the season. Once they have confidence, this team only needs one victory to come back stronger.
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