Quang Hai returns, Hoang Duc and Van Quyet stand out

The 2023 V-League season ended with many echoes and highlights left for fans.

In a season without many domestic players making a prominent mark, Hoang Duc and Van Quyet are perhaps the domestic players with the biggest highlights among the foreign players.

Foreign striker's mark

In the top 10 players with the most goals in V-League 2023, only Van Quyet is a domestic player (9 goals). The second domestic scorer is... Nguyen Duc Chien, a player with a forte as a center back who is used as a midfielder this season.

Foreign strikers continue to dominate domestic players in the scoring list.

This trend is actually not new in V-League seasons. Even Hanoi FC this season also used 3 foreign players in the attack. At Binh Duong Club, Nguyen Tien Linh no longer plays a key role. HAGL no longer has Cong Phuong and Van Toan in the squad.

Therefore, the mark of foreign players becomes even more evident. The top scorer of V-League 2023 is striker Rafaelson - a striker who has affirmed his class since previous years. Following him is Bruno Cantanhede - also a former top scorer of V-League - and Jhon Cley, a rookie playing in his first season in Vietnam.

Hoang Duc and Van Quyet stand out

The midfielder born in 1998 played all 20 matches this season. He scored 5 goals and contributed many assists for his teammates. Hoang Duc and Van Quyet are the 2 most prominent domestic players in the 2023 V-League season, along with some names such as Doan Van Hau (Hanoi Police Club), Tran Nguyen Manh ( Nam Dinh ), Dang Van Lam (Binh Dinh).

Hoang Duc can compete for the title of best player of the season.

However, this is a season where the mark of most of the stars of the Vietnamese team is blurred. They are not necessarily playing badly, but they lack explosiveness. In particular, coach Philippe Troussier has a big concern in the Vietnamese team's attack when no domestic striker has scored up to 10 goals.

Hanoi football race

The top 3 positions of V-League 2023 all belong to teams using Hang Day Stadium as their home stadium.

With heavy investment, Hanoi Police Club recruited a series of national players such as Van Hau, Van Thanh, Van Duc, Tan Tai. In the middle of the season, they signed contracts with two stars Quang Hai and Filip Nguyen. The police team won the championship, recreating the miracle of HAGL exactly 2 decades ago. Hanoi Police Club is the second team to win the V-League in the first season of promotion.

All seven leading positions are occupied by teams from the North Central region and beyond. This once again emphasizes the trend of the difference in achievements between Southern and Northern clubs in recent years.

Hanoi Police Club won the V-League 2023.

The only team relegated from the V-League is Da Nang FC - a one-time powerhouse of the tournament. The South Central Coast team said goodbye to the highest level of Vietnamese professional football after two decades of participation. Da Nang FC's opponents in the relegation battle are also two representatives from the South. Binh Duong FC and Ho Chi Minh City FC both had disappointing seasons and only stayed in the tournament thanks to a draw in the final round. Quang Hai and Filip Nguyen These are two "blockbuster" contracts of the 2023 V-League season, both made by Hanoi Police FC to supplement their mid-season strength. In particular, the appearance of Filip Nguyen created a clear effect for the home team. The overseas Vietnamese goalkeeper born in 1992 showed his class in excellent reflexes, the ability to enter and exit, and accurate situation judgment. In addition, Filip Nguyen's footwork skills are also very good. Meanwhile, Quang Hai has not been able to regain his form as before leaving V-League to play in France. The midfielder born in 1997 has not been arranged in a familiar system and position. However, in the final matches of the season, Quang Hai gradually showed signs of regaining his rhythm.

Quang Hai returns to V-League.

Foreign coach hard

V-League is still a tough tournament for foreign coaches. There are a total of 5 foreign experts in charge in the 2023 season: Velizar Popov (Thanh Hoa), Bozidar Bandovic (Hanoi FC), Paulo Foiani and Flavio Cruz (Hanoi Police Club) and Kiatisuk Senamuang (HAGL).

Interestingly, although both the champion and runner-up of V-League 2023 used foreign coaches, they all failed to make a significant impression. Coaches Foiani and Cruz could not last the entire season at Hanoi Police Club. Both Brazilian coaches had difficulty combining the stars of the rookie team. Meanwhile, Mr. Bandovic struggled to build a new style of play for Hanoi FC. This is a rare season when Hanoi FC is not the team with the most goals in the tournament. Even more bitterly, they could not win the championship because they lost to Hanoi Police Club on secondary indexes.

Coach Popov is a rare foreign coach who left a remarkable mark in the 2023 V-League season.

Coach Kiatisuk continues to work at HAGL and has not achieved the same success as the 2021 season, which was canceled halfway. In the context of the mountain town team losing a series of key players such as Nguyen Cong Phuong, Luong Xuan Truong, Nguyen Van Toan, Vu Van Thanh and Nguyen Phong Hong Duy, early relegation is not a bad achievement for HAGL. The foreign coach who left the strongest impression in V-League 2023 is Velizar Popov. The Bulgarian coach created a new vitality for Thanh Hoa Club with a high-intensity pressing style of play and modern direct attacks. Ranking fourth in V-League (with the National Cup title), only behind 3 teams with strong potential, is a great success for Mr. Popov and his students. Van Hai

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