Đức Chiến scored against his former club, intensifying the V-League championship race.

03/10/2025 08:48:00 GoalGuru

... And celebrated with pride. Thể Công Viettel traveled to the ancient capital Hoa Lư full of momentum, remaining unbeaten alongside Ninh Bình since the start of the season. With 3 wins and 2 draws, Thể Công Viettel sits near the top of the league table.

However, Ninh Bình is a place easy to arrive at but hard to leave with points. Here, the V-League 2025/2026 newcomer even defeated the defending champion Nam Định 2-0 and crushed Thanh Hóa 4-0... Before hosting Thể Công Viettel, Ninh Bình had a streak of 4 wins and only one draw (against Hải Phòng in the 5th round). The team from the ancient capital swept away all challengers with devastating attacking strength.

When Thể Công Viettel’s captain and center-back Bùi Tiến Dũng was shown a red card and sent off, people began to anticipate a poor result for the soldier-origin team. Notably, those responsible for breaking through Thể Công Viettel’s defense were former players: Hoàng Đức and especially Đức Chiến, who finished the job.

Despite being a man down, Thể Công Viettel rallied fiercely, showing the spirit of young soldiers. They managed to score an equalizer and left Hoa Lư without a loss.

Professional football doesn’t deal with sentiment, but had that penalty been taken by a foreign player or someone else... Luckily, Thể Công Viettel stood firm.

Along with Bùi Tiến Dũng, Hoàng Đức and Đức Chiến are the finest talents produced by Viettel’s academy over the past decade. From finishing as runners-up at the 2016 U19 Vietnam Championship in Nha Trang to now, the duo Đức Chiến - Hoàng Đức have made significant progress. Also in 2016, they played brilliantly to reach the U16 Asian Championship semifinals, and in 2017, this group participated in the FIFA U20 World Cup in South Korea...

Although some young players like Nhâm Mạnh Dũng and Khuất Văn Khang have been introduced, it is unlikely that Viettel’s academy will produce players of similar caliber in the next 10 years.

The moment Đức Chiến successfully converted the penalty to score against his former club. Photo: Nhật Anh

Before the 6th round, the V-League coaching carousel started turning, with at least 3 coaches losing their positions from Hanoi, SLNA, and Becamex TP.HCM. Among them, Nguyễn Anh Đức and Phan Như Thuật are young coaches who still have time and chances to rebuild. The competition is ruthless and leaves no room for mistakes. The list of dismissals could grow when the league resumes after the October FIFA break.

Looking calmly, aside from some clubs with high ambitions like Ninh Bình, Nam Định, CAHN, and Hà Nội FC, the rest including Thể Công Viettel and CA TP.HCM are not yet ready for the races. Internal strength (both personnel and financial) is an issue, but fundamentally, the depth of squads varies greatly among teams. The 26-match V-League is a long-distance race, and teams with thin rosters will find it hard to keep pace.

The 6th round can be seen as a meeting point for those struggling. SHB Đà Nẵng stumbled against Hanoi FC (on a day when the capital’s team even played without a head coach), providing opportunities for Thanh Hóa, HAGL, B.TP.HCM, and PVF CAND. These teams almost did not contribute players to the national team during the October call-up and will have more time to prepare before the league resumes.

However, just yesterday afternoon, Thanh Hóa and B.TP.HCM held each other to a 1-1 draw in Thanh Hóa. A disappointing result for both sides.

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