Ho Chi Minh City football regains glory

Coach Le Huynh Duc's team hopes to establish a top position on the national football map. Therefore, the "test" from the capital will accurately assess the strength of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Club.

Rebuilding identity

Implementing the policy of the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security and the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, recently, Ho Chi Minh City Police has received and reorganized the activities of the Ho Chi Minh City Club, changing its name to the Ho Chi Minh City Police Club (HCMC CA).

In the history of Vietnamese football, CA TP HCM Club was established in 1979, is a team with many achievements, notably the national championship in 1995, runner-up in the 1993-1994, 1996, 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 seasons.

Bóng đá TP HCM tìm lại hào quang - Ảnh 1. — Teams participating in V-League 2025-2026. Graphics: VE LOAN

The Police football team has also produced many generations of national players. And when returning to the top arena, the HCM City Police Club is led by a coaching staff consisting of many former players - one-time stars of HCM City football including: Head coach Le Huynh Duc, assistant coaches Phung Thanh Phuong, Hoang Hung, Hua Hien Vinh and Chau Tri Cuong.

Emphasizing the mission in the 2025-2026 season, Coach Huynh Duc affirmed that he will work with the whole team to rebuild the identity of Ho Chi Minh City football and aim to be in the top 5 of V-League this season.

Immediately after the transfer and renaming, coach Huynh Duc and his team retained the pillars who played for Ho Chi Minh City Club last season and recruited many high-quality players.

In the rookie group, Ho Chi Minh City football fans expect the brilliance of striker Nguyen Tien Linh, the domestic striker with the best scoring efficiency in the V-League, compared to be a copy of Huynh Duc.

Bóng đá TP HCM tìm lại hào quang - Ảnh 2. — CA TP HCM Club sets high goals in V-League 2025-2026. Photo: CA TP HCM Club

Coach Huynh Duc knows Tien Linh very well as they both worked together at Binh Duong Club. At that time, Tien Linh had just returned to play after an injury and was gradually regaining his scoring instinct under the guidance of the former Vietnam national team striker.

Reuniting in the HCM City Police Club jersey, the pair of coach Huynh Duc and student Tien Linh carry the responsibility of building the symbol, competitive identity as well as the top position of the Thong Nhat Stadium team.

An ambitious team will naturally want to achieve good results when facing Hanoi FC - the leading team of V-League for nearly two decades. For the away team, this season has a special meaning, as it marks the 20-year milestone of building and developing (since 2006) and will be complete if they win the V-League 2025-2026 - a title that Hanoi FC has not achieved in the last 3 seasons.

Therefore, despite having home field advantage, overcoming Hanoi FC at the present time is not an easy task for CA TP HCM FC. Moreover, the capital team has strong personnel additions, including high-class foreign players such as midfielder Hendrio, Willian Maranhao, and center-back Adriel da Silva.

If CA TP HCM becomes an "unknown" this season, then Hanoi FC is one of the top candidates in the V-League championship race.

Demonstrate your strength

Also changing its name before the new season, Becamex TP HCM Club (formerly Binh Duong Club) no longer invests resources as strongly as in previous seasons. After saying goodbye to a series of key players before the 2025-2026 V-League, the team brought in young but experienced domestic players in the country's top playground.

However, similar to the HCM City CA Club, the coaching staff of the HCM City Becamex Club also has the presence of a legend who has played for many years and achieved success for the team - strategist Nguyen Anh Duc.

The former Vietnam national team striker played for Binh Duong from 2006 to 2019, scoring 125 goals in 355 matches. At his peak, Nguyen Anh Duc contributed to bringing Binh Duong Club 4 V-League championship titles (2007, 2008, 2014, 2015), 2 National Cups, 4 National Super Cups. The striker born in 1985 also became the "Top scorer" of V-League 2017, won the Vietnam Golden Ball 2015 and was twice voted the title of V-League's Best Player (2014, 2015).

Coach Nguyen Anh Duc's understanding of the team and practical experience make the leadership of Becamex Ho Chi Minh City Club confident in setting high goals for the 2025-2026 season.

Mr. Ho Hong Thach, Chairman of Becamex Ho Chi Minh City Club, assigned the task to coach Nguyen Anh Duc's team to strive to achieve a top 3 result at the end of this season. In addition, the team must also demonstrate beautiful play, dedicating performances that satisfy Ho Chi Minh City fans.

At 5:00 p.m. on August 17, Coach Nguyen Anh Duc's team will visit Pleiku Stadium to face Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) in the first round of V-League 2025-2026 (FPT Play). Experts predict that the match between the two teams will be dramatic and difficult to determine the winner because the balance of power between the two sides is quite even.

HAGL is no longer considered a championship candidate after saying goodbye to many key players: Minh Vuong, Chau Ngoc Quang, Pham Ly Duc, Dung Quang Nho, Tran Bao Toan, Le Van Son. However, the away team also lost the services of key striker Tien Linh, conductor Hai Huy or "steel" central defenders Que Ngoc Hai and Janclesio.

The challenge of getting points on the opening day of the new season is even more difficult for Mr. Anh Duc and his team when many key players have not yet recovered from injuries, including: defender Ho Tan Tai, striker Bui Vi Hao...

"The matches of round 1 of V-League 2025-2026: Nam Dinh - Hai Phong (6:00 p.m. on August 16), Ha Tinh - Ninh Binh (6:00 p.m. on August 17), Thanh Hoa - Da Nang (6:00 p.m. on August 17), PVF-CAND - Song Lam Nghe An (6:00 p.m. on August 17).