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Fan favourite: Former national team captain Nguyen Minh Phuong (right) plays in a friendly at Ha Noi's My Dinh National Stadium. — VNS Photo Quang Thang |
The vote, organised by Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper, is to select the best from a list of 29 candidates who also include young and foreign footballers.
V-League two-time champions Becamex Binh Duong dominate the list with three candidates – Nguyen Anh Duc, Nguyen Vu Phong and Huynh Quang Thanh.
Dong Tam Long An follow with two key players Phan Van Tai Em and Nguyen Minh Phuong.
On the women's list, announced by the organising committee on Tuesday, six Ha Noi players who helped the national team win the Southeast Asian Games in Laos for the fourth time are included.
Ha Minh Tuan of Da Nang and Nguyen Van Quyet of Viettel are promising candidates for the best young players of the year.
Argentinean goal poacher Gaston Merlo, the best striker in the national football V-League championship twice in a row, will face stronger competition from Brazilian Leandro De Oliveira, who moved to Binh Duong after a three-year contract with Hai Phong, Antonio Carlos of Dong Tam Long An, South African Kubheka Philam from Binh Duong and Nigerian Samson Kayode from Dong Thap.
Merlo, who helped Da Nang win the V-League title in 2009, won Best Foreign Player in the vote last year.
Last year, young playmaker Pham Thanh Luong from Ha Noi ACB won the men's Golden Ball, while HCM City's Doan Thi Kim Chi clinched the women's title for the fourth time
Striker Le Cong Vinh from Ha Noi T&T and former national forward Le Huynh Duc, who now coaches Da Nang, both won the Golden Ball three times in a row.
The new winners will be announced at an award ceremony in HCM City on March 28. — VNS
