Foreign players in V-League: Expensive, but are they worth the price?
On the evening of February 9th, Hanoi FC defeated SLNA 3-0 to get back in the V-League title race. However, the most talked-about topic after the match wasn't Van Quyet's brace or the capital's resurgence, but rather the three missed opportunities by Daniel Passira, a new signing for Hanoi FC.
The foreign player wearing jersey number 99 is valued at $500,000 (approximately 13 billion VND), and won the top scorer title in the Bolivian national championship in the 2023-2024 season with 22 goals. Despite his impressive record, Passira's performance in last night's match at Hang Day Stadium was a disappointment.
Daniel Passira (number 99) missed a chance in the match against SLNA.
The Brazilian player clumsily missed a chance after Van Quyet's through pass in the middle of the first half. Despite having the goal wide open, Passira dribbled awkwardly and shot wide. In the 40th minute, Joao Pedro delivered a perfect pass to Passira, putting him one-on-one with goalkeeper Van Viet. But once again, he attempted a careless shot with the outside of his foot, sending the ball wide of the goal. In the second half, Passira again fumbled a shot, despite his teammates creating opportunities.
One match isn't enough to judge a foreign player. However, if Passira turns out to be a "flop," Hanoi FC fans probably wouldn't be surprised. From 2021 to the present, the former V-League champions have registered 29 foreign players, but none have scored more than 10 goals per season. The best foreign players have only lasted no more than two seasons. For many years, the team has been carried by domestic players like Van Quyet, Hung Dung, Tuan Hai, and Thanh Chung.
This is a stark contrast to a team that once boasted many talented foreign players such as Samson Kayode (later renamed Hoang Vu Samson), Gonzalo, Cristiano, Oseni, and Pape Omar... Hanoi FC's foreign player recruitment process has been questioned recently, as the six-time champion team has bought many players but achieved little success.
For example, in the 2023-2024 season, Hanoi FC registered six foreign players to play in the AFC Champions League, including Damien Le Tallec, who previously played in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund. However, after half a season, only two remained. One of them was Joel Tagueu, who had to sit on the bench and then missed a penalty in the National Cup final, causing Hanoi FC to miss out on the title.
Hanoi FC isn't the only team to have made mistakes with foreign players. Binh Duong FC also landed a "flop" when they signed Wellington Nem at the beginning of this season. Wellington had played alongside Neymar in the Brazilian U.17 team and had an impressive resume. However, he played for almost half the season without meeting the required fitness standards and had to leave early.
Wellington Nem was a failed signing for Binh Duong Club.
Another friend of Neymar is Patrick Cruz, a foreign player for Saigon FC in 2017. He was released after one season, despite scoring 7 goals in 22 matches, but was still considered not outstanding in terms of professional ability.
In the 2020 season, Ho Chi Minh City FC brought in the duo Ariel Rodriguez and Jose Ortiz, valued at up to $1 million (25.3 billion VND). However, Ortiz left after only half a season, while Ariel fared better, staying for a few more months. Even now, with the departure of the Costa Rican duo and a host of other underperforming foreign players, experts are still questioning: why were they brought in?
Burning money
Although each team has different financial resources, most V-League teams are willing to spend money on foreign players. This is because coaches understand how the quality of foreign players affects the season's performance. Saigon FC's third-place finish in the 2020 V-League with the duo of Pedro Paulo and Geovane Magno is a prime example.
However, it seems there are problems with the recruitment of foreign players. Sources from Thanh Nien Newspaper reveal that some teams are spending hundreds of thousands of USD (including salary and contract fees) on foreign players, after only a few video reviews or trial training sessions.
Many foreign players are advertised as teammates of this or that superstar, but clearly that detail has no professional value. Because even with real class, success in the V-League requires many factors, and cannot rely solely on a flashy CV.
Very few players reach the level of Xuan Son.
Perhaps clubs also lack patience with foreign players. It's rare for a player to showcase their full potential after just a few months. For example, Nguyen Xuan Son spent his first three seasons in the V-League without scoring more than 6 goals in any season. His own perseverance and the trust of his club were the catalysts for his growth. However, not many clubs are willing to give foreign players a second season to prove themselves.
If clubs lack patience, the foreign player market will forever be a waste of money. A former player agent asserted that it's ironic that teams spend so much money on foreign players (even if they're not worth the price), but neglect upgrading facilities, stadiums, and youth development.
That is the kind of wastefulness that threatens to drag Vietnamese football backward.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-ngoai-binh-ov-league-dat-tien-nhung-kem-hieu-qua-185250210085722899.htm
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