Hanoi FC – 20 years of perseverance in creating the next generation for Vietnamese football

VHO - Established in 2006, competing in the Third Division, then becoming the only club in the 130-year history of Vietnamese football (1896-2025): promoted to 3 divisions in 3 years. After that, Hanoi continued to become the most successful club when Vietnamese football changed from subsidized to semi-professional and then professional in the past quarter of a century (2000-2025).

But, that is not all, when Mr. Do Quang Hien with the familiar name Bau Hien - Executive Chairman of T&T Group - the founder and first chairman of Hanoi Club always confided that: his joy is not only the success of Hanoi Club - but above all - what he contributed and did very specifically for the development of Vietnamese football.

And Mr. Hien always says what he does, in which the latest success of the Vietnam U17 team winning a ticket to the 2026 U17 Asian finals has a significant contribution from Hanoi Club.

Present and future

The Vietnam U17 team topped Group C with 15 points, scoring 30 goals and conceding none, earning the sole ticket to the finals in Saudi Arabia from May 7 to 24, 2026. It was even more impressive when entering the decisive match for the top spot in Group C, both Vietnam and Malaysia won four matches, but the Vietnamese team had the advantage with a goal difference of +26 compared to +20. This meant that a draw was enough for the Vietnamese team to eliminate Malaysia.

But contrary to many predictions, the Vietnamese team under the leadership of coach Cristiano Roland showed a beautiful attacking style and always put pressure on the opponent's entire field. That is the reason why in the 4th minute, the Vietnamese team opened the score and eventually won 4-0 against Malaysia.

U17 Hanoi players such as Nguyen Luc, Manh Quan, Hoang Viet... in the U17 Vietnam jersey

This is the second consecutive time that Coach Roland has brought Vietnam to the U17 Asian finals. Previously, in April 2025, at the U17 Asian Finals 2025, after two impressive 1-1 draws against Japan and Australia, in the final match, the Vietnamese team led the UAE 1-0 until the 87th minute, but was equalized 1-1, so they missed out on a ticket to the 2025 World Cup finals taking place in Qatar at the end of November.

If in the 2025 U17 Asian finals, Hanoi Club contributed 8 players born in 2008 to the Vietnam team, then in the 2026 U17 Asian qualifiers, Hanoi Club has 5 players born in 2009 wearing the U17 Vietnam team shirt.

Notably, Mr. Roland is the coach of the Hanoi U17 team, two consecutive years of winning the Vietnam U17 championship (2024, 2025), and the philosophy of playing beautifully, attacking, and effectively has been instilled in the blood of the Hanoi players as well as the Vietnamese national team players by Coach Roland. Coach Roland said he always wants to do the best for Vietnam, for Vietnamese football.

But why does Brazilian coach Roland work in Vietnam with all his love and dedication for the development of Vietnam?

Simply because Coach Roland used to play for Hanoi Club and won the V-League 2010, 2013. After that, Roland was invited by Mr. Hien to be the coach of the Hanoi U17 team and Mr. Hien's viewpoint of always dedicating to Vietnamese football was passed on to Coach Roland in particular and all members of the Hanoi Club ecosystem in general.

Glorious past from 2018

2018 was the year that opened the most successful period in the history of Vietnamese football with an unexpected achievement: runner-up in the U23 Asian Cup in Changzhou (China).

Among the 23 players who made this glorious achievement, Hanoi FC contributed 6 players including defender Doan Van Hau; center backs Nguyen Thanh Chung, Do Duy Manh; midfielders Nguyen Quang Hai, Pham Duc Huy, Truong Van Thai Quy, not to mention goalkeeper Nguyen Van Hoang, center back Tran Dinh Trong (Saigon FC); goalkeeper Dang Ngoc Tuan, center back Bui Tien Dung, striker Ha Duc Chinh (SHB Da Nang) who are players playing for two clubs sponsored by Mr. Hien. In total, 11/23 U23 Vietnam players (47.8%) have direct and indirect contributions from Mr. Hien.

Hanoi FC always contributes many talented players to the Vietnamese national teams.

This is considered the most talented generation of Vietnamese football and has achieved the highest series of achievements in the history of Vietnamese football, which is reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 Asian Games, the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup, two gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games... and reaching the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia. Of course, in any tournament, Hanoi Club always contributes the most players to the Vietnamese teams from U to national level.

As at the 2019 SEA Games, Hanoi Club contributed 5 players, in addition to Doan Van Hau (Heerenveen, Netherlands); Huynh Tan Sinh ( Quang Nam ); Do Thanh Thinh, Bui Tien Dung, Ha Duc Chinh (SHB Da Nang). As for Doan Van Hau, before agreeing to let Hau leave Hanoi to play for Heerenveen, Mr. Hien required that the contract must clearly state that Hau must return to play for the U22+2 Vietnam team at the 2019 SEA Games, and at the same time, Mr. Hien will pay all expenses for Hau, about 1 billion VND, during the time Hau returns to play at the 2019 SEA Games.

And as we know, Hau played excellently and contributed greatly to bringing the 2019 SEA Games Gold Medal to Vietnamese Football after 60 years of waiting since the first Gold Medal of Vietnamese Football at the 1959 SEAP Games. Another significant contribution from Hanoi Club is that the captain of the U22+2 Vietnam team at the 2019 SEA Games is the all-round offensive and defensive midfielder Do Hung Dung, one of two players over 22 years old allowed to be promoted according to the tournament regulations.

Once again, the gold medal that Vietnam Football has been waiting for for 60 years had the direct and indirect contribution of Mr. Hien with 10/20 players, accounting for 50%.

The near past with the ASEAN CUP 2024 championship title

When the referee whistle blew to end the second leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final, 4/11 positions on the field belonged to players currently playing for Hanoi Club, including captain Do Duy Manh, center-back Nguyen Thanh Chung, Pham Xuan Manh (a versatile player in many positions of center-back, defender, midfielder on both sides) and attacking midfielder Nguyen Hai Long.

What is more interesting is that Hai Long, who opened the scoring for Vietnam in the 4-1 win over Laos, was also the one who scored the final goal, not only sealing a 3-2 victory for Vietnam in the second leg of the final but also contributing decisively to helping Vietnam become the first national team in the history of the tournament to beat Thailand in both the first and second leg of the final.

Tuan Hai shines in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2024 final in Thailand.

Striker Pham Tuan Hai, although leaving the field in the 83rd minute and unable to be the fifth Hanoi FC player to fight until the end, was the hero of the second leg final. Hai's opening goal in the 8th minute brought the Vietnamese fans confidence in winning the championship, when the Vietnamese team was ahead by 2 goals.

It was Hai who dispelled the fans' worries when Thailand took a 2-1 lead (minute 64), equalizing the score 3-3 after two matches. In the 74th minute, Hai made a brave breakthrough on the left wing of the opponent's penalty area, passing the ball strongly inside, causing the Thai defender to fumble and kick the ball into his own net, helping the Vietnamese team tie the score 2-2. This goal brought the Vietnamese team to a 4-3 lead after two matches. And as mentioned, Hai Long ended the match with a goal from midfield.

In addition to these 5 players, if we count Nguyen Quang Hai (currently playing for the Hanoi Police club), who was discovered, trained and played for many years for Hanoi FC, then Hanoi FC contributed 5/11 positions on the field when the referee's whistle sounded to signal the end of the second leg final.

Joy beyond words

It is impossible to tell the whole 20-year journey of Mr. Hien in particular and T&T Group in general in one article. However, just mentioning and recalling the highlights is enough to sketch out a very beautiful picture of Mr. Hien - T&T Group for Hanoi Club and Vietnamese football.

That is a Hanoi Club that has won the national championship 6 times, the National Cup 3 times and holds the record of winning the National Super Cup 5 times; the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup 2014, the Southeast Asian championship and reached the inter-zone final of the AFC Cup 2019, the best achievement of a Vietnamese club in a continental tournament.

At youth level, 6 times national U21 champion, 7 times national U19 champion, 2 times national U17 champion.

Hanoi FC is the most successful football team in V-League history.

A record that many teams dream of. But when asked what in football brings the most joy to Mr. Hien?

Without answering directly, Mr. Hien recalled the achievements of the 2018 U23 Asian Cup runner-up, the 2018 AFF Cup champion, the 2019 SEA Games gold medal, the marks that helped Vietnamese football reach new heights. With the 2024 ASEAN Cup championship, joy has returned to Vietnamese football fans, creating an opportunity for Vietnamese football to rise. Mr. Hien was happy not only because of the image of people taking to the streets to celebrate, but also because the Vietnamese football players, including many players trained at the Hanoi Youth Football Training Center, have turned the impossible into possible.

Mr. Hien thoughtfully shared that when the children turn the impossible into possible, this success will spread to many other fields. When many positive things that are impossible become possible in all fields, Vietnam will develop, as Vietnamese football has had a new position since 2018.

Whatever makes Vietnamese football better, Mr. Hien is always happy and willing. Therefore, Mr. Hien said that the two victories in the AFC Champions League of Hanoi team against Wuhan Three Towns (China) and the defending champion Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) in December 2023 also brought him indescribable emotions. Why?

Because those are not just normal wins and losses in football, but also wins that bring image value, brand, and reputation to a Vietnamese football club in particular and Vietnamese football in general.

The contributions of Mr. Hien and T&T Group to Vietnamese football and sports have not stopped but are still continuing.

With the desire to invest in football for the Hanoi brand and above all for Vietnam, before the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2024 away match in Thailand, a very important match for the Vietnamese team, a match that decides the championship dream of Vietnamese football fans, Mr. Hien, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of SHB Bank, decided to charter a plane to bring fans to Thailand to give the team more strength. Moreover, SHB also sponsored all expenses (airfare, accommodation, travel, stadium tickets) for relatives of the players; loyal customers with a number of up to 600 people.

Also under the management of Mr. Hien, SHB was also one of the main sponsors to purchase the copyright for the 2022 FIFA World Cup men's football and accompanied National Assembly Television to broadcast the matches of the 2023 FIFA World Cup women's football.

Talking about his activities in football, Mr. Hien shared: “Football brings happiness, pride, and unity to the nation. As a fan, I always hope that Vietnamese football will develop more and more.”

Talk less, do more, do effectively, that is the style of Mr. Hien. With such a leader, it also partly explains the success of T&T Group and SHB Bank, two units in the field of sports alone, not only accompanying men's football but also table tennis, women's football, thereby the development path of Vietnamese football from men to women or table tennis, all have the mark of T&T Group and SHB Bank through the commander: Mr. Hien!

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/ha-noi-fc-20-nam-ben-bi-kien-tao-the-he-ke-thua-cho-bong-da-viet-nam-185160.html