Coach Popov brings sadness to Thanh Hoa

On the evening of November 2, The Cong Viettel beat Thanh Hoa 1-0 in round 9 of V.League 2025/26 at the Thanh team's home field.

Dinh Viet Tu scored the only goal to help The Cong Viettel defeat Thanh Hoa. Photo: FBNV .

The match at Thanh Hoa Stadium marked the special return of coach Velizar Popov, who once led the Thanh team to win 2 National Cups and 1 National Super Cup. However, in this return, the Bulgarian strategist was on the other side of the battle line, leading The Cong Viettel, facing his former students who had written glory with him.

The match was not very exciting, but the only goal came from a moment of class. In the 30th minute, the ball was cleared out of Thanh Hoa's penalty area and found Viet Tu's feet. This defender handled the ball calmly and then skillfully flicked the outside of his right foot, sending the ball flying into the net while goalkeeper Xuan Hoang was helpless. Viet Tu did not celebrate, because the goal came in front of the stands where he used to be attached.

After that, Thanh Hoa tried to push up but almost got stuck in attack. The home team's attack could not make a difference even though they put all their efforts at the end of the match. The match ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of the army team.

The defeat against The Cong Viettel has caused Thanh Hoa to continue to sink deeper into crisis. Coach Choi Won Kwon and his team have only 7 points after 9 rounds and have fallen to 13th place on the rankings. Meanwhile, The Cong Viettel has returned to the top 3 with 18 points, continuing to maintain a stable performance.

Source: https://znews.vn/hlv-popov-sowing-sau-cho-thanh-hoa-post1599382.html