V-League: Historic transfer could help Ho Chi Minh City football take off

Ho Chi Minh City Football has 6 representatives in the Vietnamese professional system next season, including 2 V-League teams and 4 first division teams.

Ho Chi Minh City football has a sudden change in the number of professional teams.

After Saigon FC was relegated and dissolved in 2023, Ho Chi Minh City football has only one representative in the V-League, named Ho Chi Minh City FC.

In the first division, it will not be until the 2024 - 2025 season that the Ho Chi Minh City Youth team will participate, becoming the second representative of the city named after Uncle Ho to participate in the professional football system.

However, the 2025-2026 season will witness an explosion in the number of teams named Ho Chi Minh City. In the V-League, Becamex Binh Duong Club has completed the conversion procedure to become Becamex Ho Chi Minh City (after Binh Duong province merged and became a part of Ho Chi Minh City). Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City Club transferred and changed to Ho Chi Minh City Police Club.

Becamex TP.HCM Club (purple shirt) was formerly named Becamex Binh Duong

PHOTO: MINH TU

In the first division, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Club changed its name to Ho Chi Minh City Club (after Ba Ria - Vung Tau province merged and became a part of Ho Chi Minh City). At the same time, 2/4 representatives who won tickets to the first division, including Gia Dinh and Van Hien University, are also based in Ho Chi Minh City. Thus, from 2 to 3 representatives before, Ho Chi Minh City football now has 6 professional teams in the V-League and the first division. This is the largest number in history.

However, quantity increases, what about quality?

The transformation of Ho Chi Minh City football, up to now, has only stopped at changing the name. The teams have new names and logos, but the players, coaching staff and top management have not changed.

Becamex TP.HCM Club (formerly Becamex Binh Duong) only finished 7th last season and won the bronze medal in the National Cup. The team failed to achieve its ambition of finishing in the top 3, despite changing 3 coaches (Hoang Anh Tuan, Nguyen Cong Manh, Nguyen Anh Duc) and spending a lot of money to recruit good players.

In 7 seasons, Becamex TP.HCM Club has been completely empty-handed in V-League, not once being able to break into the top 3. Even in the 2023 season, Becamex TP.HCM Club had to compete to avoid relegation until the last round. The 2023 - 2024 and 2024 - 2025 seasons both had the same scenario: a good start, but a decline towards the end and only finishing in the middle of the table.

Coach Anh Duc has not been able to make a difference at Becamex TP.HCM Club.

PHOTO: BECAMEX CLUB HCMC

Before changing its name to Ho Chi Minh City Police Club, the Ho Chi Minh City team was struggling in the lower half of the rankings. The peak of the "Red Battleship" was the runner-up position in V-League 2019 and fourth place in the 2023-2024 season. However, that was only a temporary success. The investment source for Ho Chi Minh City Club is no longer as abundant as before, leading to the team only using young or average players and struggling to avoid relegation.

In the first division, Ho Chi Minh City Youth or Ba Ria - Vung Tau (now named Ho Chi Minh City Club) also did not leave an impression.

In search of identity

Answering the question of why fans are indifferent to Ho Chi Minh City football, a former player shared that it is because the audience does not see the identity of the teams here. The concept of identity is understood as the playing style and the people, both of which do not reflect the spirit and style of the people of Ho Chi Minh City.

The peak of the identity crisis was the period 2011 - 2013, when the two football teams Saigon Xuan Thanh and Navibank Saigon, despite massive investment and fierce recruitment, dissolved after only a few years. Saigon Club (2016 - 2022) also only existed for 6 years and then disappeared.

The story of football teams from other places coming and then adding the name Saigon to their name is no longer strange in the dark period for Vietnamese football in general and Ho Chi Minh City football in particular. The echoes of the "Soul of Truong Ba, Skin of a Butcher" football teams made fans turn their backs, and Thong Nhat stadium became cold for many years.

It is not difficult to establish or rename a football team, but creating a brand that leaves an impression on the audience is a very long journey, requiring the effort and dedication of an entire team.

Fans will expect teams named Ho Chi Minh City to play football systematically, focus on youth training, have a style of play and people with the "flavor" of Ho Chi Minh City, and at the same time connect more with fans. Fans will only love when they understand that this team is theirs, playing for them.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/v-league-cuoc-chuyen-giao-lich-su-co-the-giup-bong-da-tphcm-cat-canh-185250716160121718.htm