Ho Chi Minh City football is on the rise
Both representatives of Ho Chi Minh City started the V-League 2025 - 2026 with a complete victory. At Thong Nhat Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City Police Club defeated the runner-up Hanoi with a score of 2-1. At Pleiku Stadium, Becamex Ho Chi Minh City defeated the host HAGL 3-0.
Thanks to that, 2 out of 3 leading teams in V-League after round 1 are representatives of Ho Chi Minh City. Although the top position of Becamex Ho Chi Minh City or the third position of Ho Chi Minh City Police Club after round 1 is only temporary, it is still a rain on the southern football field that has "dried up" for many years.
Tien Linh (red shirt) and Ho Chi Minh City Police Club won the opening match.
PHOTO: KHA HOA
Ho Chi Minh City Police Club (formerly Ho Chi Minh City Club) is having the most dramatic squad transformation in the past 5 years. The Thong Nhat Stadium team has brought in coach Le Huynh Duc, recruited domestic top scorer Tien Linh, and at the same time retained high-class players from the old Ho Chi Minh City team such as Patrik Le Giang, Huy Toan... Thanks to strong investment to renew the force, Ho Chi Minh City Police Club won the opening match against Hanoi Club.
Coach Le Huynh Duc's team has not been able to combine a smooth and varied playing style, mainly playing on the wings and counter-attacking in the opening match. Although to turn the new team into a unified block, Mr. Le Huynh Duc needs time to train and adjust. However, with new people and new morale, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Club still has a promising future, after many years of "floating" to compete for relegation under the name of Ho Chi Minh City Club with a mid-level force in the V-League.
Becamex TP.HCM of coach Nguyen Anh Duc also reformed to participate in V-League with a new shirt. Compared to his senior Huynh Duc at the Ho Chi Minh City Police Club, Anh Duc has a slight advantage because the domestic players of Becamex TP.HCM have been together under the name Binh Duong before. However, Anh Duc's difficulty lies in... Becamex TP.HCM's tradition of changing "generals". Last season, the team at Go Dau Stadium changed 3 coaches, but still only finished 7th overall.
Becamex TP.HCM (blue shirt) took all 3 points at Pleiku Arena
PHOTO: VPF
Since 2020, Becamex TP.HCM has changed coaches 10 times, none of whom have lasted 2 seasons. The coaching position is the "hottest" position at Go Dau Stadium. This means that even though he signed a 2.5-year contract with Becamex TP.HCM, there is no guarantee for Anh Duc's future. Victory is the only way and coach Anh Duc needs the true support of the players and the board of directors to stay in his position.
Identity and youth training
The 2025-2026 season is still very difficult for both representatives of Ho Chi Minh City. In the context of V-League teams spending a lot of money on domestic and foreign players, the current forces of Ho Chi Minh City Police Club and Becamex Ho Chi Minh City are only good, not outstanding.
The good news this season is that after many years of "ups and downs", both representatives of Ho Chi Minh City have invested more in the depth of their team, recruiting coaches who were former players of the team to take advantage of their prestige and knowledge.
Substantial investments, rather than ostentatious or extravagant ones, will help Becamex Ho Chi Minh City and Ho Chi Minh City Police Club have a good foundation to move forward. Perhaps, after the lavish but ineffective "drumming" of names like Saigon FC, Navibank Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City Club itself in the 2020-2021 period, Ho Chi Minh City football will return to more simple and core values.
Investing in youth football, building a dedicated identity, being close to fans, achieving high rankings... are the best ways for Ho Chi Minh City football teams to regain the trust of the audience.
Thong Nhat Stadium held a party on the day Ho Chi Minh City Police Club started the V-League. Hopefully, that joy will mark the return of the former Southern football powers.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bong-da-tphcm-tron-niem-vui-ngay-ra-quan-v-league-mua-nay-se-rat-khac-185250818114435149.htm
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