Coach Polking cautious before the first leg final against Buriram United

Responding at the press conference before the match, Coach Polking of Hanoi Police Club highly appreciated the strength of Buriram United Club when the Thai representative owns many good players, who are pillars of the Thai national team, along with a team of quality foreign players.

Coach Polking and midfielder Quang Hai

Despite the absence of striker Suphanat Mueanta due to injury, according to coach Polking, this does not greatly affect the quality of Buriram's squad: "Suphanat is a good, excellent player. Obviously, the absence of Suphanat will be somewhat of a loss, but Buriram does not only have Suphanat, they have many excellent Thai players and foreign players. I believe Buriram has enough strength and good squad depth to prepare for this match."

Previously in the group stage, Hanoi Police Club had a 2-1 victory over Buriram at Hang Day Stadium. This was a representative match of Vietnam that demonstrated a reasonable game and shining moments of the stars.

However, coach Polking said that these are two completely different matches: "Tomorrow's match is a completely different match. Buriram has made many changes in players and lineup. They have just won the Thai championship and are on the journey to conquer other tournaments. These are two completely different matches."

Also attending the press conference, defender Quang Hai shared: "Hanoi Police have the advantage of playing at home. My teammates and I all feel the importance of the match. The whole team has prepared carefully and is determined to show the team's strength. In the upcoming final match, the team with the better performance will win. We will try to achieve the best results, creating the premise for the second leg."

Coach Osmar Loss Vieira and player Theerathon Bunmathan

For his part, Buriram United coach Osmar Loss Vieira commented that Hanoi Police is one of the two best teams to qualify for the final with almost perfect scores. The Vietnamese representative has a very solid defense and midfield, well-organized and methodical. This will make it difficult for Buriram to organize pressing at home.

"However, we are used to the pressure of important matches. Our goal is to win the championship. This will be a different match from the group stage, the match is 180 minutes long, not 90 minutes. I also don't think there is any advantage in the final because if we don't get a favorable result, there will be a lot of pressure on the whole team even though we are playing at home."

Meanwhile, opening his speech, striker Theerathon Bunmathan sent his congratulations to the Vietnam National Team for winning the AFF Cup recently. Striker Theerathon Bunmathan said that the AFF Cup and the Southeast Asian Cup C1 are two completely different tournaments and two opposing teams.

"Although we are the away team and will face some difficulties, Buriram is confident that we have prepared well and are aiming for victory and the championship" - Theerathon Bunmathan shared.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/hlv-polking-than-trong-truoc-tran-chung-ket-luot-di-gap-buriram-united-20250513115758386.htm