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At the end of April 2025, Nam Dinh Green Steel announced contract extensions with more than a dozen players, in many cases until 2031. Among them is naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son, who contributed greatly to Nam Dinh's championship last season and also shone brightly at the 2024 ASEAN Cup with the Vietnamese team.
The rest are foreign players Lucas, Araujo, Caio Cesar or domestic players like Nguyen Phong Hong Duy, goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh, defender Duong Thanh Hao, Van Vi, Tran Van Kien... That was a decisive move, and it can be said, had a significant impact on the spirit of the rest in the championship race.
V-League has seen many big players with the same formula as Nam Dinh: shopping heavily in the transfer market, creating an extremely strong team capable of challenging the old powers. A “dream team” with the most outstanding faces, quick championship trophies. Typical examples include Becamex Binh Duong or HAGL of Mr. Duc in the past, or just before Nam Dinh, CAHN.
But everyone still bows to Nam Dinh with the fastest shopping speed and focuses a lot on foreign players. The strong foreign force is also the strongest support that helped Nam Dinh win the V-League twice. Last season, the Hendrio-Nguyen Xuan Son duo was the biggest threat to the opponents' goal and this year, Nam Dinh is still constantly strengthening foreign players.
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Foreign soldiers are the resource that helps Nam Dinh gain an advantage in the race with its opponents. |
More than a decade ago, V-League was almost dominated by teams with the shadow of Mr. Hien behind them, namely Hanoi FC, SHB Da Nang and Quang Nam. Hanoi FC alone has won 6 V-League championships, SHB won in 2012 and Quang Nam was a fairy tale in the 2017 season.
Despite different perspectives, one cannot deny the fact that Mr. Hien has created an “empire” with great influence and power over Vietnamese football. In terms of achievements, Hanoi is the most successful football team in history, and still maintains a good foundation.
The game has changed now….
Vietnamese football, a new turning point?
In the last 4 seasons, V-League has witnessed new “kings” crowned, from The Cong Viettel to CAHN and Nam Dinh. After their successes at the top, Hanoi has shown signs of slowing down and has just returned this season with the runner-up position.
The difference between Nam Dinh and Becamex Binh Duong or HAGL is probably the old foundation. Nam Dinh is a locality with a football tradition, once stirred up the V-League and also owns a large, enthusiastic fan base.
These are the factors that Binh Duong or HAGL and even Hanoi do not have and only need a catalyst to combine to create a new powerful team. It is easy to see that the above teams are all concentrated in the north, not to mention Hai Phong or Thanh Hoa, both of whom were once in the top 3. The fun that was once concentrated in the south has now become exciting in the northern stands.
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The race in V-League is increasingly competitive and unpredictable with new and old players both ambitious and well-connected. |
The V-League game has also become more unpredictable as the big players are all rich in potential, ambition and relationships. If before, Hanoi Club almost had a monopoly in the top group, now the race has become more complicated and unpredictable. Nam Dinh is still in the upper hand, but Hanoi Club has shown signs of revival and The Cong Viettel or CAHN also do not hide their ambition to break through.
And if in the past, no matter how strong the clubs were, it was difficult to have a widespread impact on football, now, the "players" are capable of leading the race in the V-League to new and unpredictable turns.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/v-league-nhung-tay-choi-xoay-chuyen-can-can-quyen-luc-post1756957.tpo
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