Southeast Asian Cup C1: More than just a final!

The opponent in the championship match with Hanoi Police Club is the reigning champion of Thai League (Thai National Championship). Winning against Buriram United not only affirms the position of Vietnamese football in Southeast Asia but also creates momentum to reach the continental level.

In the group stage of the 2024-2025 Southeast Asian Cup C1, the police team also defeated Buriram United at home at Hang Day Stadium with a score of 2-1. However, the importance of the rematch between the two teams will make the situation more dramatic and unpredictable.

Hanoi Police Club must win the first leg of the final to gain an advantage in the second leg of the Southeast Asian Cup C1 (Photo: VFF)

Nguyen Quang Hai, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Truong Tien Anh, Vu Van Thanh or goalkeeper Nguyen Filip... are expected to take advantage of the experience and prestige of the Southeast Asian champion to overwhelm the top Thai stars currently playing for Buriram United such as: Pansa Hemviboon, Theerathon Bunmathan, Sasalak Haiprakhon, Supachai Jaided... creating an attractive competition with high professional quality.

After winning the 2024-2025 Thai League, Buriram also expressed their ambition to win the "treble" this season. Coach Osmar Loss Vieira's team gathered a team of high-quality foreign players, won the right to play in the Thai FA Cup match and reached the final of the Southeast Asian Cup C1. Meanwhile, Hanoi Police almost lost the chance to compete for the V-League championship when they are 12 points behind the top team, but still hope for a double title when reaching the semi-finals of the National Cup and the final of the Southeast Asian Club Championship.

The Southeast Asian Cup 1 has been canceled many times due to lack of sponsorship and conflicting schedules with international tournaments organized by the AFC system. This season, the tournament brings together 12 clubs from 8 countries in the region, divided equally into 2 groups competing in a round-robin format to calculate rankings, selecting the top 4 teams from the 2 groups to enter the semi-finals. In general, the professional quality in the Southeast Asian playground is only average.

However, facing a successful Thai team is an opportunity for Vietnamese football to review quality, understand its strength to have solid progress in the future.

Buriram United is the most successful club in Thailand, having won 7 Thai League titles, 4 FA Cups, 5 League Cups and 1 Thai Super Cup. Notably, in the continental arena, Buriram is a team with many years of participation in the AFC Champions League, having reached the quarter-finals of Asia's top tournament in 2013.

Therefore, when Vietnamese football begins to reach the continental level, competing and winning against strong representatives in the Southeast Asian region will create more confidence and motivation to affirm its position, attract sponsors as well as world-famous stars to wear the shirts of V-League clubs.

Hanoi Police Club needs the highest attitude and fighting spirit to defeat the Thai League champions and overcome their fear of facing Thai teams.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/cup-c1-dong-nam-a-hon-ca-mot-tran-chung-ket-196250513205159268.htm