Hanoi FC determined to create surprise in Asian Cup 1

On the evening of September 20, Hanoi FC will enter the first match of the group stage of the Asian Cup 1, facing Pohang Steelers, a very strong team from Korea.

Hà Nội FC quyết tâm tạo nên bất ngờ ở Cúp C1 châu Á - Ảnh 1. — Hanoi FC is very determined in the Asian Cup 1 arena.

It can be said that never before has a Vietnamese representative participating in a continental tournament prepared as carefully as the home team at Hang Day Stadium.

Right at the end of the 2023 season, Hanoi FC's leadership outlined a detailed plan towards the most prestigious continental club arena with strong will and desire.

That will and desire is demonstrated by the fact that Hanoi FC is the first team in history to recruit enough foreign players according to the regulations of the Asian Football Federation to compete in the Asian Cup 1.

With such a huge playing field, good domestic players are not enough. Even the powerful representatives of Japan, Korea, and China still have to rely heavily on foreign players.

Hanoi FC Chairman Do Vinh Quang said that the capital team does not hesitate to spend millions of dollars to buy quality foreign players, but in recent years has not been successful.

The reason is that the team has not participated in the AFC Champions League, the facilities, training and competition environment in Vietnam are not good, so even with money it is difficult to buy good players.

Winning a ticket to the AFC Champions League this time has helped Hanoi Club open up many opportunities, even buying foreign players.

Simply put, the former V-League champion brought the best luggage before the battle day.

In fact, Hanoi FC is the only Vietnamese team to have reached the semi-finals of a continental tournament (AFC Cup).

Hanoi FC is also the first football team in Vietnam to have a proper promotion and cheering plan when participating in continental competitions.

That's why Hanoi fans in particular and Vietnamese fans are eagerly waiting for the performance of Van Quyet and his teammates.

If Hanoi FC competes successfully, it will certainly contribute to raising the level of Vietnamese football, marking a step forward in the development of Vietnamese football on the Asian football map.

This also promotes the development of domestic football, motivates young people to practice and strive, creating generations of talented players for Vietnamese football in the future.

Vietnamese football used to have HAGL and Binh Dinh (2003, 2004), Long An and Da Nang (2006), Binh Duong and Nam Dinh (2008) as names that entered straight into the group stage of the Asian Cup 1.

V-League gradually fell behind other countries in the region and continent, so the period of 2015 and 2016 saw only one Vietnamese team participating in the group stage and the remaining team had to participate in the preliminary round.

Worse, from 2017 to 2020, V-League only had 1 club participating from the preliminary round.

It was not until the third decade that V-League began to have representatives entering the group stage of the Asian Cup 1.

First was Viettel (2021-2022), Hoang Anh Gia Lai (2022-2023) and now Hanoi FC (2023-2024).

There is one thing in common, this tournament is still too big for the teams in V-League when no representative of Vietnam has passed the group stage.

This year's season is the last season that V-League has a representative participating, before the Asian Football Confederation changes the format, structure, and number with a tighter filter.

Therefore, Hanoi FC is very eager and determined to make history, with the immediate goal of passing the group stage.

Hanoi FC's match schedule at the Asian Cup C1

7pm September 20: Hanoi - Pohang Steelers

17:00 October 4: Urawa Red Diamonds - Hanoi

19:00 October 14: Wuhan Three Towns - Hanoi

7:00 p.m., November 8: Hanoi - Wuhan Three Towns

17:00 November 29: Pohang Steelers - Hanoi

19:00, December 6: Hanoi - Urawa Red Diamonds

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