'Vietnamese Chelsea' wants to regain its glory: Recruiting former HAGL prodigy

Once a force in the V-League with the nickname "Vietnamese Chelsea", Binh Duong Club is trying to rebuild to return to the top. After nearly a decade of decline, the team from Thu Dau Mot is expected to have strong changes in the 2025 - 2026 season.

The golden age of "Vietnamese Chelsea"

From 2007 to 2015 is considered the golden period in the history of Binh Duong Club. In the 9 seasons mentioned above, the team won 4 V-League championships (2007, 2008, 2014, 2015), 4 National Super Cups and 1 National Cup. Thanks to a strong transfer policy, a quality and deep squad, Binh Duong Club at that time was considered "Vietnamese Chelsea", not only because of the blue shirt but also because of its modern and professional football style.

But that halo gradually faded after the 2015 season. From the position of championship candidate, Binh Duong Club gradually slipped to the middle group of the tournament. Many seasons, they had to struggle with the relegation race - including the 2017 and 2023 seasons.

Nguyen Tien Linh is the owner of the 2024 Vietnam Golden Ball title

PHOTO: NAM DINH CLUB

Despite still possessing prominent names such as Nguyen Tien Linh, the leading domestic striker in Vietnam today, and many other stars, the team from Thu Dau Mot cannot regain stability. Continuous changes on the coaching bench, lack of depth in the squad, and increasingly fierce competition from emerging teams such as Hanoi Police Club, Nam Dinh Club ... have caused Binh Duong to gradually lose its position.

Expectations for a "rebirth"

Before the 2025-2026 season, Binh Duong Club is showing positive signs in terms of development orientation. In addition to retaining key players such as striker Nguyen Tien Linh, the team from Thu Dau Mot has recruited former Vietnamese player - Nguyen Anh Duc to be the head coach.

The team from the land of Thu has also started recruiting. Most recently, Binh Duong Stadium welcomed midfielder Phan Thanh Hau. Thanh Hau was once considered a "child prodigy" of the HAGL training center. In 2014, the British newspaper The Guardian surprised Vietnamese football fans when it listed young talent Phan Thanh Hau (then only 17 years old) of HAGL in the list of "40 most promising young talents in the world ".

Phan Thanh Hau is talented, but has not developed as expected, partly due to injuries.

PHOTO: MINH TRAN

There is still plenty of time for Binh Duong Club to prepare its players for the new season. At this time, fans of the land of Thu are hoping that their favorite team will regain the glory from before the 2015 season.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chelsea-viet-nam-muon-tim-lai-anh-hao-quang-chieu-mo-cuu-than-dong-hagl-185250712102654509.htm