Chinese team coach surprised by the strength of Hanoi Police Club

(Dan Tri) - Coach Quique Setien of Beijing Guoan (China) praised the Hanoi Police Club, but also said that the team from Vietnam got a draw thanks to having many Brazilian players in the squad.

Despite being rated highest in the group and having home field advantage, Beijing Guoan only earned one point after a 2-2 draw against Hanoi Police Club in the opening match of AFC Champions League Two 2025/26 on the evening of September 18.

Commenting on the match, Beijing Guoan coach Quique Setien said: “I did not expect the Vietnamese club to have such a strong squad. The opponent has very good players. Their coach is also very good. I was impressed with the way the Hanoi Police Club built the squad and played.

Beijing Guoan coach Quique Setien.

During the pre-match preparation, we had predicted their overall performance. Hanoi Police Club deployed a systematic pressing. However, the opponent had players who were very good at moving and attacking the flanks, causing Beijing Guoan to have difficulties, especially the defense was under a lot of pressure.

Despite giving much praise to the V-League representative, coach Quique Setien also said that the strength of Hanoi Police is thanks to the foreign players from Brazil. "It can be said that this is a team that is half Vietnamese and half Brazilian," he said.

Beijing Guoan midfielder Chi Zhongguo also had similar comments about Hanoi Police Club: “They pose a lot of threats to us. The opponents that Chinese clubs have to face in this year's Asian tournament generally have many excellent players, and their technical and tactical systems are also very complete."

Hanoi Police drew in the opening match of AFC Champions League Two 2025/26 (Photo: Hanoi Police).

Regarding the Hanoi Police, Coach Polking said: “I am very satisfied with the performance of the players. We played a great match, controlled the game and pressed very well against a strong opponent. We should have got 3 points, but a few moments of lapse in concentration caused us to only get one point.”

Regarding not registering Quang Hai in the competition list, Coach Polking revealed that player number 19 suffered an injury before the departure date, so he stayed in Vietnam to rest. Meanwhile, Bui Hoang Viet Anh's injury in the final minutes of the match with Beijing Guo An is currently being monitored by doctors, and will be thoroughly examined after returning home.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-doi-trung-quoc-ngac-nhien-truoc-suc-manh-cua-clb-cong-an-ha-noi-20250919105624774.htm