Apart from the 2021 V.League season being canceled due to Covid-19, HAGL fans are all too familiar with the story of fighting to avoid relegation. But most of them have long since resigned themselves to a safe outcome.
However, the 2025-2026 V.League season is completely different. With only two rounds remaining, HAGL still needs to be desperate for a place in Vietnam's top league – where they once set an unprecedented record with two consecutive championships after being promoted from the First Division.
But looking back at HAGL's journey, this is something they have to accept given their dismal performance. After 24 rounds, they only managed 23 points. This number is only one win more thanSHB Da Nang, who are in the play-off position, while the Da Nang team has a better goal difference than coach Le Quang Trai's team, with -10 and -13 respectively.
The defense, featuring players like Trung Kien, Jairo, and Quang Kiet, remains among the top nine teams with the fewest goals conceded in the league. However, the attack has been a "disaster," leading to their languishing in the bottom half of the table throughout the past season.
After 24 matches, HAGL has only scored 20 goals. In this V.League season, this number only puts the team from Pleiku above Hong Linh Ha Tinh in terms of goal-scoring ability. Hong Linh Ha Tinh is known for its pragmatic style of play, scoring only 15 goals but conceding only 26. On the current standings, Hong Linh Ha Tinh is 5 points ahead of HAGL.
HAGL has no shortage of foreign strikers, such as the two forwards Conceicao and Gabriel, or midfielder Marciel; even center-back Jairo has been occasionally pushed up to play as a striker out of necessity. But none of them have scored more than 3 goals.
This number is equal to the number of goals scored by Nguyen Minh Tam - the HAGL striker who has been called up to the Vietnam U23 team. Another striker also in the Vietnam U23 team, Nguyen Dinh Bac, has 10 goals for Hanoi Police.
Among the top 15 goalscorers this season, the last-placed Atshimene Charles of Hong Linh Ha Tinh has already scored 6 goals - more than the combined total of 5 goals from HAGL's striker duo Conceicao and Gabriel.
In fact, Mr. Duc's team is going through a very difficult season. Key players like Minh Vuong, Ngoc Quang, Bao Toan, Quang Nho, Ly Duc… have all left to find new clubs.
This forced coach Le Quang Trai to promote young players to the highest level of Vietnamese football. With limited playing experience, most of the replacements were unable to fill the void left by their seniors.
Furthermore, foreign players are also a major issue for coach Le. Besides the strikers, Marciel is also showing signs of stagnation after having played a pivotal role in HAGL's style of play for several seasons. Spectators can easily see the Brazilian midfielder's sluggish movements and dissatisfied reactions to the players around him during matches.
Mr. Vu Tien Thanh - former Technical Director of HAGL - once declared Marciel to be one of the best midfielders in the current V.League. For a player of Marciel's caliber, playing with inexperienced teammates in a team that doesn't aim for a top spot and is constantly battling to avoid relegation will inevitably affect his mentality and inspiration.
Given these factors, HAGL winning against Hanoi is an extremely difficult challenge. In their last 6 matches, HAGL has only managed one victory. Meanwhile, the capital city team has won 6 out of their last 7 V.League matches.
The string of victories has helped coach Harry Kewell's team secure third place and compete with Ninh Binh, who are in fourth place and also have 45 points. Hanoi clearly doesn't want to lose their top 3 spot, and against a HAGL team that is currently lacking in resistance, this will be an excellent opportunity to secure three points.
Notably, Pleiku Stadium, once a stronghold for HAGL, has become a place of disappointment for its fans. In their last five home games, the team owned by Chairman Duc has lost four and only managed one point from a 0-0 draw against Hai Phong.
In this context, HAGL absolutely needs points if they don't want SHB Da Nang to overtake them, especially since the Da Nang team will be playing away against Hong Linh Ha Tinh, a team with no remaining league goals. In the final round, they also have to play away against a direct competitor for relegation survival, Becamex Ho Chi Minh City, so the pressure is even greater for coach Le Quang Trai and his team.
The team from the mountainous region is facing numerous difficulties at the moment. Let's wait and see what belief will help HAGL overcome this "death trap" this season and take control of their own destiny!
Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/tran-cau-sinh-tu-voi-hoang-anh-gia-lai-post588395.html
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