European coaches have yet to defeat HAGL throughout their careers

Coach Popov still has not managed to secure his first victory against HAGL in his entire career.

Viettel traveled to Pleiku Stadium for the 8th round of the V-League, being rated much higher than the home team HAGL. Coach Popov’s squad is currently in 2nd place on the leaderboard, along with Ninh Bình as the only two teams yet to lose a match, while HAGL is at the bottom, having not won any games.

However, an upset occurred as HAGL played very confidently against the strong Viettel side and scored 2 goals by skillfully capitalizing on key moments. Meanwhile, Viettel, despite fielding their best attacking players, only managed a consolation goal in the final minute from a free kick.

Viettel lost 1-2 to HAGL, ending their undefeated streak this season. Notably, this match further extended the unfortunate record of Coach Velizar Popov when facing HAGL. Throughout his career, the Bulgarian strategist has yet to achieve his first win against the Mountain Town team.

Specifically, this was the 6th match in which Coach Popov only managed draws or losses against HAGL. While coaching Thanh Hóa club, his record versus HAGL was 3 draws and 1 loss. After becoming Viettel’s head coach, a much stronger team, he lost both encounters with HAGL.

After the match, Coach Popov gave a brief comment: "Anyway, it was just a single game. We will gain experience and there is still much ahead of us. I also want to congratulate HAGL for earning the 3 points. That’s all there is to it."

Notably, in the 9th round of the V-League, Viettel will face Thanh Hóa, marking the first time Coach Popov will confront his former club. Thanh Hóa is where the Bulgarian coach built his reputation in Vietnamese football, winning 3 titles including 2 National Cup championships and 1 National Super Cup.