HCM City teams vow to stop the rot

Southern pride: Vo Phi Thuong of Navibank Sai Gon challenges for the ball with a member of Khatoco Khanh Hoa during a match at the HCM City's Football Federation tournament. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Nhut

HCM CITY — HCM City football has shown intentions of putting a stop to its shameful results over the last two years at local football competitions as HCM City and Navibank Sai Gon football clubs have revamped their teams for the new season.

During the last weekend of the 2009 V-League season, the city football witnessed the relegation of two clubs.

Sai Gon United was relegated to the Second Division despite a 2-0 win over Hoa Phat Ha Noi in the last match, and one day later, HCM City also suffered the same fate with a 3-2 defeat by Binh Duong.

There was no escaping the fact that city football had no representative in the 2010 V-League until Navibank Bank surprisingly bought the Military Zone 4 football club. They renamed it Navibank Sai Gon and chose Thong Nhat Stadium as its home ground.

However, Navibank Sai Gon was struggling at the bottom of the table throughout the season.

The club was relegated, but the fact that there were six fewer clubs in the First Division operating as a business handed Navibank a play-off with Quang Ninh. They escaped from relegation with a 2-0 win.

After being demoted to the First Division, HCM City continued its poor performance and had a disappointing season and only until the last round did the club escape from demotion.

Change for better

But the upcoming 2011 V-League season, the so-called professional football season, could be a different story as city-based clubs have made moves to build their teams that not only have survived the relegation but also have enough ability to move into the top half of the ranking.

Navibank splashed out a considerable amount of money on players, bringing in qualified strikers Nguyen Quang Hai from Khanh Hoa, Brazilian-Vietnamese striker Huynh Kesley Alves from Binh Duong and midfielder Luong Van Duoc Em from Dong Thap.

While Hai is the most prolific local striker last season with 13 goals, veteran Huynh Kesley has stamped his authority onto the V-League with his vast experience. Duoc Em was considered a promising young player last season.

"With new players joining the team and good preparation, we will try to finish the 2011 V-League at least in the middle of the table. We hope that the worries over the relegation will not be repeated," said Mai Duc Chung, head coach of Navibank Sai Gon.

By recruiting a foreign coach and bringing in some new faces, HCM City, the successor of the famous Sai Gon Port, has also made its intentions clear that they do not want to be a contender for the relegation in the next nine months.

The club recently signed a contract with Croatian coach Vjeran Simunic and hired Singaporean coach Robert Lim as a technical consultant. They have also recruited foreign players Lima and Cokolic from fellow club TDC Binh Duong.

Coach Simunic said that his team was ready for the new season. He believes the club will not have to face a battle to avoid relegation, as they did last season. — VNS

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City football aims to stop relegation woes

HCM CITY – HCM City football has shown intentions of putting a stop to its shameful results over the last two years at local football competitions as HCM City and Navibank Sai Gon football clubs have revamped their teams for the new season.

During the last weekend of the 2009 V-League season, the city football witnessed the relegation of two clubs.

Sai Gon United was relegated to the Second Division despite a 2-0 win over Hoa Phat Ha Noi in the last match, and one day later, HCM City also suffered the same fate with a 3-2 defeat by Binh Duong.

There was no escaping the fact that city football had no representative in the 2010 V-League until Navibank Bank surprisingly bought the Military Zone 4 football club. They renamed it Navibank Sai Gon and chose Thong Nhat Stadium as its home ground.

However, Navibank Sai Gon was struggling at the bottom of the table throughout the season.

The club was relegated, but the fact that there were six fewer clubs in the First Division operating as a business handed Navibank a play-off with Quang Ninh. They escaped from relegation with a 2-0 win.

After being demoted to the First Division, HCM City continued its poor performance and had a disappointing season and only until the last round did the club escape from demotion.

Change for better

But the upcoming 2011 V-League season, the so-called professional football season, could be a different story as city-based clubs have made moves to build their teams that not only have survived the relegation but also have enough ability to move into the top half of the ranking.

Navibank splashed out a considerable amount of money on players, bringing in qualified strikers Nguyen Quang Hai from Khanh Hoa, Brazilian-Vietnamese striker Huynh Kesley Alves from Binh Duong and midfielder Luong Van Duoc Em from Dong Thap.

While Hai is the most prolific local striker last season with 13 goals, veteran Huynh Kesley has stamped his authority onto the V-League with his vast experience. Duoc Em was considered a promising young player last season.

"With new players joining the team and good preparation, we will try to finish the 2011 V-League at least in the middle of the table. We hope that the worries over the relegation will not be repeated," said Mai Duc Chung, head coach of Navibank Sai Gon.

By recruiting a foreign coach and bringing in some new faces, HCM City, the successor of the famous Sai Gon Port, has also made its intentions clear that they do not want to be a contender for the relegation in the next nine months.

The club recently signed a contract with Croatian coach Vjeran Simunic and hired Singaporean coach Robert Lim as a technical consultant. They have also recruited foreign players Lima and Cokolic from fellow club TDC Binh Duong.

Coach Simunic said that his team was ready for the new season. He believes the club will not have to face a battle to avoid relegation, as they did last season. VNS

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Dong Thap to lose top players

Dong Thap are facing a mass exodus of players following the final game of this season's V-League after a number of players expressed a desire to leave.

Midfielders Duoc Em and Duy Khanh have received offers from HCM City's Navibank Sai Gon who successfully stayed in the V-League on the last day of the season on Sunday.

And following confirmation of their new sponsor, Quang Nam have put attractive offers in for defenders Van Tuan and Phuoc Thanh.

National keeper Tan Truong is also a target for many teams who are ready to pay a large transfer fee to Dong Thap who finished third in the national premier league.

Dong Thap are in a hurry to sign new deals with their players but it is likely that they will begin next season with just half of this year's starting 11.

Tai Em ponders possible new life

National team member Phan Van Tai Em's contract will expire next month and he is thinking about a new life after competing for Dong Tam Long An for nearly 10 years.

Tai Em has received offers from Ninh Binh, Becamex Binh Duong and Navibank Sai Gon but he will make his final decision after a talk with Long An's managers.

His teammates have also made plans. Thai Issawa is going to finish his three-year contract. He will also talk with Long An's managers before going home for a holiday. Issawa was strongly supported by his team during his time out injured and said his responsibility was to contribute more to Long An.

Coach Hai to leave Ninh Binh

Coach Le Thuy Hai will leave Ninh Binh after the team finished 11th in the V-League despite a number of promises when he took charge in March.

Hai said he would help Ninh Binh, who made their debut in the V-League this season, finish at least fifth in the league but they only narrowly avoided relegation.

Hai who pocketed a huge salary of VND100 million (US$5,100) per month has yet to be offered a new contract while Ninh Binh chairman, Hoang Manh Truong, said Hai and his team had failed to match target and he had no plans for the new season.

Young footballers head to Qatar

Three young Vietnamese have been chosen to participate in the final round of world football's talent contest at Aspire Football Academy in Qatar.

Le Van Chung, 15, Cao Thanh Hoe, 15, both from Da Nang, and Nguyen Viet Thang, 14, from Long An will compete against peers from 15 other countries to win a three-year scholarship to train at the academy.

The players were selected from 50 entrants, chosen from 25,000 young players nationwide, in the final round held early this month at the Thanh Long Sports Centre in HCM City.

Football Dreams is one of the world football's biggest talent contests, organised by Aspire Football Academy in countries across Africa, Asia and South America.

The project began in Viet Nam in 2008, and last year Nguyen Thai Sung, 16, from Da Nang became the first Vietnamese player ever to win a three-year scholarship to train at the academy. — VNS

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