"Capital Derby" opens V-League 2025-2026

Hanoi Police Club had an impressive start to the new season when they defeated Nam Dinh to win the National Super Cup on August 9. Meanwhile, The Cong Viettel emerged as a candidate to win the V-League championship this season thanks to recruiting many high-class players.

Showing the position of championship candidate

Hanoi Police Club and Viettel The Cong are considered to be two of the teams with high-quality attacks. Last season, the two capital teams were in the top 4 clubs scoring the most goals in the V-League. Among them, striker Alan Grafite (Hanoi Police) won the "Top scorer" award with 14 goals, while Pedro Henrique of the "soldiers" team was only 1 goal behind his colleague.

These two Brazilian strikers possess a flashy, fast attacking style, the ability to operate independently, and have a variety of effective finishing. Both of these foreign players are key factors in the team's tactical operations.

Hanoi Police Club becomes the leading candidate in the 2025-2026 V-League championship race. (Photo: HANOI POLICE CLUB)

Besides Alan, Hanoi Police Club also owns many excellent attacking stars, such as Leonardo Artur, Rogerio Alves, Nguyen Quang Hai, Phan Van Duc or young talent Nguyen Dinh Bac. The mobility of this group of players helps Coach Polking build a diverse attacking strategy, thereby winning the National Cup as well as defeating the reigning V-League champion to win the National Super Cup title.

Not only has he created a clear playing style, Coach Polking has also increasingly asserted his leadership ability. Previously, the police team had twice missed the V-League "throne", having to constantly change "generals", causing the general playing style to be disrupted and the players' fighting spirit to decline.

In just a short time, the 49-year-old Brazilian strategist has reviewed the force, shaped the framework and revived the attacking identity of the Hanoi Police Club. Coach Polking's team deployed more smoothly, coordinated coherently and made the most of the individual skills of the stars to score decisive goals in the match.

Through the double title of the 2024-2025 season of Hanoi Police, experts see this club as a highly organized team with comprehensive offense and defense. They have become the leading candidate in the race for the V-League championship this season.

The Cong Viettel's great ambition

The Cong Viettel usually starts the season smoothly but gradually loses steam in the final sprint. Last season, The Cong Viettel had a series of consecutive wins and undefeated matches, leading the V-League rankings after the first half. However, the "soldiers" team only finished 4th in the V-League and won the bronze medal in the National Cup. The club's unstable performance also put coach Nguyen Duc Thang under a lot of pressure to resign.

On the coaching bench, Coach Velizar Popov is expected to help The Cong Viettel transform and play better. Mr. Popov has affirmed his reputation and talent during his time leading Thanh Hoa Club, achieving many successes in the domestic arena.

This Bulgarian coach has a deep understanding of Vietnamese football, reads the game quickly and offers reasonable solutions to help turn the game around. Under coach Popov, Thanh Hoa Club does not have many stars but is very difficult to defeat, and is considered a tough team thanks to the strength of solidarity and uniformity in all lines.

With a core of many national players and a squad of high-class foreign players, Coach Popov has great ambitions to bring The Cong Viettel to the V-League championship this season. To realize that goal, The Cong Viettel has been active in the player transfer market, bringing in 9 new players, including 5 domestic players and 4 foreign players, overseas Vietnamese. Among them, 18-year-old overseas Vietnamese midfielder Williams Lee Oliver Grant has attracted attention as he has played in high-class English football competitions. He is a student and junior of top stars from the foggy country such as Harry Kane and Robbie Fowler.

William Lee has made a strong impression with his ball control ability, tactical thinking and great potential to become an excellent attacking player in the future. Although not yet on the list of players registered for the first leg of the 2025-2026 season, this Vietnamese-British striker is part of the comprehensive preparation strategy for the near future of The Cong Viettel Club.

With careful preparation of its forces, The Cong Viettel sent a strong message to its opponents before entering the fateful "capital derby" with Hanoi Police Club at Hang Day Stadium.

Last season, the two teams met three times. In the V-League, The Cong Viettel and Cong An Ha Noi both won at home. However, Coach Polking’s team defeated their opponents in the semi-finals of the National Cup, before winning the tournament.