Is Vietnamese football about to have another Nguyen Xuan Son?

The reason why Hanoi FC has not registered new player Hendrio Araujo (Brazilian nationality) in the first phase of V.league 2025/2026 has been partly revealed recently. Accordingly, it seems that this is not a technical decision but a strategy of the Capital team to optimize foreign player quota in the new season.

On the morning of August 13, Hanoi FC held a ceremony to launch their team to participate in the 2025/2026 professional football season. The ceremony was attended by President of the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) Khiev Sameth, along with leaders of the Vietnam Sports Department, the Vietnam Football Federation, the Organizing Committee of V.league 2025/2026...

Will Hendrio Araujo follow in the footsteps of his compatriot Nguyen Xuan Son and wear the Vietnam national team jersey?

In an interview on the sidelines of the ceremony, Hanoi FC CEO Nguyen Quoc Tuan said that the team is supporting new player Hendrio Araujo to obtain Vietnamese citizenship. This means that Hanoi FC will not use this player in the early stages of the 2025/2026 season.

Born in Brazil but moved to Spain with his family at a young age, Hendrio Araujo was trained at the famous La Masia training center of Barcelona Club. The player born in 1994 also played for the U16 youth team of the Catalan club and the youth team of Real Betis. In 2020, Hendrio Araujo first came to Vietnam to play for Binh Dinh Club. In the 2024/2025 season, he and Thep Xanh Nam Dinh won the V.league championship. And recently, Hendrio Araujo has reached an agreement to play for the representative of the capital club Hanoi FC.

Hanoi FC’s failure to register Hendrio Araujo in the early stages is not a technical issue, but a way for the capital team to optimize its foreign player quota. Similar to what Dinh Steel Club did with Nguyen Xuan Son, Hanoi FC also accepted not to use Hendrio in the early stages so that they could register him as a domestic player in the later stages of the season.

It is also worth remembering that according to FIFA regulations, a player who does not have a national origin must live continuously in the host country for 5 years to be eligible to play for the national team of that country. Thus, Hendrio Araujo will be eligible to play for the Vietnam national team in December 2025.

Hanoi FC can help Vietnamese football have another Nguyen Xuan Son by supporting Hendrio Araujo's naturalization.

Considered the top attacking midfielder in the V.League today, if Hendrio Araujo successfully naturalizes and can wear the Vietnam national team shirt, it will help coach Kim Sang Sik have more options in arranging the squad in regional and continental tournaments. This is even more important when many teams in the region are "changing their skin" with a massive wave of naturalization.

According to Mr. Tuan, Hanoi FC aims to achieve the highest results in both V.League 2025/2026 and the National Cup. The CEO of Hanoi FC frankly said that currently, professional football clubs in V.League are being invested heavily, which makes the tournament highly competitive, but Hanoi FC considers this an opportunity to hone their abilities and demonstrate the qualities of a great team.

Established in 2006, after two decades of continuous "fighting" in domestic and regional tournaments, Hanoi FC has become one of the most successful football teams in Vietnam, making important contributions to the capital's football and national football.

Accordingly, since 2006, Hanoi FC has won 6 V-League championships (2010, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022), 3 National Cups (2019, 2020, 2022), 5 National Super Cups: 2010, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and many times represented Vietnam in the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup, bringing the image of the capital's football to the international arena.

Sharing at the launch ceremony, Chairman of Hanoi Football Club Do Vinh Quang said: “Over the past 20 years, Hanoi Football Club has written a proud story with fans, with championships, memorable matches, and above all, the enduring love of football of millions of hearts in the capital. In the 2025/26 season, besides aiming for the best results, I also emphasize that: Hanoi Football Club's mission is always to compete with the highest spirit not only on the field, but also to leave an impression in the hearts of fans".

Hanoi FC is also the place to train and develop many national players such as Van Quyet, Duy Manh, Hung Dung, Thanh Chung, Hai Long..., contributing to the success of Vietnamese football in the regional and continental arenas, such as the title of U23 Asia runner-up 2018, Gold medal at SEA Games 31 and 33, AFF Cup champion. In addition, Hanoi Football Club is also highly appreciated for its youth training system, playing an important role in discovering and nurturing young talents for Vietnamese football.

Striker Tuan Hai may go to Europe to play

Hanoi FC and Tuan Hai are actively seeking opportunities for the striker to play abroad. Potential destinations for the Vietnamese national team striker could be clubs in Latvia. If successful, Tuan Hai will be the next case after Cong Phuong, Van Hau, Quang Hai... to play in the old continent. "The team is actively seeking offers and if suitable, we are ready to create conditions for Tuan Hai to fulfill his wish (to play abroad)", said Mr. Nguyen Quoc Tuan, CEO of Hanoi FC.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/bong-da-viet-nam-sap-co-them-mot-nguyen-xuan-son--i777881/