V-League and the Sorrow of 'Former Players'

In the halftime interval of the Capital derby between The Cong Viettel and Hanoi FC during round 14 of the LPBank V-League 2025/26 at Hang Day Stadium on March 1st, witnessing The Cong Viettel's reserve players warming up in the corner, a Hanoi FC member sighed: "The substitute squad of The Cong Viettel is of such high quality, anyone you see seems fully qualified to be in the starting lineup."

So, who exactly were the players on The Cong Viettel's bench at that moment, making this Hanoi FC member so "envious"? They were Van Phong, Vu Van Quyet, Tuan Phong, Danh Trung, Nham Manh Dung, Van Tram, Hoang Khanh, Damian An, and Dinh Xuan Tien.

Among these, only reserve goalkeeper Van Phong, forward Nham Manh Dung, midfielders Xuan Tien and Van Tram have prior experience as starters at The Cong Viettel or their former clubs before joining The Cong Viettel; the majority are players who regularly enter matches from the substitute bench.

Yet, such players are also the objects of "desire" for the aforementioned Hanoi FC member. This presents a stark contrast, as just five years ago, we heard a member of The Cong Viettel lavishly praising the seamless and fluid coordination of Hanoi FC players when the two teams played a friendly during the V-League's Covid-19 hiatus.

That was a time when Hanoi FC still had Quang Hai, Van Hau, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Van Kien, and players like Tuan Hai, Van Vi, or Dinh Bac were still prospects, not yet possessing the professional level to compete for a spot in Hanoi FC's first team.

Now, for various reasons, more than half of what was once Hanoi FC's starting lineup have become members of other clubs like CAHN, The Cong Viettel, or Nam Dinh.

The Cong Viettel itself is currently the managing club for two former Hanoi FC players: Lucao and Kyle Colonna. Lucao was unceremoniously pushed out due to conflicts with head coach Bozidar Bandovic but later shone brilliantly at Hai Phong and was recruited by The Cong Viettel this season. Colonna was brought to Hanoi FC last year but was criticized for his inadequate attacking initiation ability and was also acquired by The Cong Viettel.

This duo performed excellently in the recent Capital derby and contributed significantly to The Cong Viettel's 1-0 victory over Hanoi FC. Whether unintentionally or deliberately, the promotional poster on The Cong Viettel's fanpage before the match featured only Lucao and Colonna, seemingly hinting at Hanoi FC's player management capabilities.

The tragic saga of Hanoi FC's "former players" may not have ended with the match on March 1st, as in round 15 of V-League 2025/26 next weekend, Hanoi FC must face CAHN, a team soaring high in the standings with a core of former Hanoi FC members like Quang Hai, Viet Anh, Dinh Trong, Van Hau, and even Dinh Bac.

Since parting ways with coach Chu Dinh Nghiem, Hanoi FC has been caught in a vicious cycle of recruiting and then parting ways with or dismissing foreign coaches, alongside a list of foreign players needing renewal seasonally or even periodically. Regarding domestic players, Hanoi FC is no longer the top dream destination in the V-League as it once was.

While veterans like Duy Manh, Thanh Chung, Hung Dung, and Van Quyet still have to grind it out due to a lack of worthy replacements, Hanoi FC is forced to witness the spectacle of players they once pushed away now shining brightly at their new clubs, or even directly contributing to their new clubs defeating Hanoi FC.

If one or two such cases occurred, it might be attributed to bad luck. But when nearly a full lineup of former Hanoi FC stars can be assembled in the V-League today, it clearly indicates serious issues with the capital club's personnel management. Their current modest ranking is simply an inevitable consequence.