Vietnamese football must consistently reach the finals.

26/09/2025 08:45:00 VictoryVox

This statement was made by former national team head coach Henrique Calisto 15 years ago. According to the Portuguese tactician, for Vietnamese football to rise to the continental level, it must regularly make it to regional finals. This includes the ASEAN Cup and the SEA Games.

Coach To did not mention the club level, but for a coach who has won two V-League titles, this is taken for granted. The strength of the national teams originates from the internal strength of the clubs.

One day after CAHN earned their first 3 points in this season’s Shopee Cup, or more precisely the Southeast Asian Club Championship, by defeating Dynamic Herb Cebu, Nam Dinh followed with a similar 2-1 victory over PKR Svay Rieng. This tournament is the highest club-level competition in Southeast Asia. Last season, although CAHN did not win the title, they made a significant impact by reaching the final.

If the top clubs in Vietnam’s professional football system cannot conquer the Southeast Asian club championship, how can they hope to compete in continental tournaments such as the AFC Champions League Elite or AFC Champions League Two?

Returning to Nam Dinh’s most recent match, also their home opener, against PKR Svay Rieng (representing Cambodia), the 2-1 win was somewhat modest since Cambodian football cannot compare to Vietnam’s at both national team and club levels. Nam Dinh is the strongest team in Vietnam, with a starting lineup almost entirely composed of foreign players worth hundreds of billions of dong. Why does Nam Dinh maintain this foreign squad if not to compete for regional or continental championships?

Nam Dinh must win the Shopee Cup 2025/2026 to truly affirm their status. Photo: Hoang Linh

With the Shopee Cup, the premier club competition in Southeast Asia, Vietnamese representatives need to demonstrate their worth before the national teams can prove themselves at the regional level. Otherwise, the status of Vietnamese football will be difficult to improve. Yet it seems that Vietnamese clubs’ participation in international tournaments is merely for extra gain.

Over 15 years ago, HN ACB was in a similar position. Twenty years ago, Da Nang was as well. Twenty-three years ago, HAGL competed in the Southeast Asian Champions Cup (now Shopee Cup) amid unresolved match-fixing allegations... In short, Vietnamese football, both at club and national team levels, has yet to escape its "ghosts."

Therefore, the initial victories of CAHN or Nam Dinh in the Shopee Cup 2025/2026 are quite ordinary. Vietnamese football remains the top in the region. Only by bringing home the Cup can the conversation truly begin.

Comment (0)