'Suffocating' competition schedule of Vietnamese representatives in Asia: Fire tests gold...

The two representatives of Vietnamese football at the Asian Cup, Hanoi Police Club and Nam Dinh, are preparing to face a very harsh schedule, requiring them to demonstrate their mettle and ability to distribute their strength appropriately.

A series of stressful days

Within just half a month, the Hanoi Police (CAHN) and Nam Dinh teams have to compete in 4-5 matches in 3 very important tournaments including the AFC Champions League 2, V-League and the 2025-2026 Southeast Asian Cup C1.

Nam Dinh Club is preparing to face a very busy match schedule in the next 15 days.

Photo: Nam Dinh Club

Specifically, for Nam Dinh, the defending champion of V-League will meet Ratchaburi FC (Thailand) in the C2 Asian Cup on September 17. On September 22, Nam Dinh will meet Ninh Binh in the V-League. On September 25, the team from Nam Dinh will host Svay Rieng Club (Cambodia) in the C1 Southeast Asian Cup. On September 28, Nam Dinh will meet CAHN Club in the V-League and on October 2, the defending champion of V-League will visit Eastern Club (Hong Kong, China) in the C2 Asian Cup. In total, in 15 days, Nam Dinh will play 5 matches, an average of 3 days/match.

As for CAHN Club, the defending champion of the Vietnam National Cup will play against Beijing Guoan Club (China) in the C2 Asian Cup on September 18. Then, on September 24, CAHN Club will face Cebu (Philippines) in the C1 Southeast Asian Cup. On September 28, CAHN Club will face Nam Dinh in the V-League and on October 2, the team led by coach Mano Polking will meet Tai Po Club (Hong Kong, China) in the C2 Asian Cup. Within 14 days, CAHN Club will play 4 matches, an average of 3.5 days/match, including travel and recovery time before and after the above matches.

With this schedule, Nam Dinh and CAHN teams must calculate carefully, in order to preserve their strength in different tournaments, ensure their competitiveness in many tournaments, and avoid overloading the group of key players. This is something that Vietnamese teams are not used to, because domestic clubs rarely participate in many tournaments at the same time as at this time. Therefore, the role of coaches Mano Polking (CAHN Club) and Vu Hong Viet (Nam Dinh) will be very important.

Hope for strength

The coaches will be the ones to make the most suitable calculations for their team, ensuring both scientific principles and helping the players to best demonstrate their individual abilities.

CAHN Club has a strong and elite team of players.

Photo: CAHN Club

This time is of course very difficult for the players and for the Nam Dinh teams as well as the CAHN Club, but if they can untie the "knot" of the match schedule, they will become stronger and more confident in the rest of the 2025-2026 season. Every big team in the world has to go through similar stages, there are always a few times when the teams face a dense match schedule in each season. What makes the difference between a big team and an average team is the ability to face this kind of schedule.

Currently, CAHN and Nam Dinh clubs are both heavily invested and have quite a thick squad. CAHN club occasionally keeps some key players like Alan, Leo Artur, Viet Anh, Cao Pendant Quang Vinh, Dinh Trong... on the bench. At the same time, since the beginning of the tournament, coach Mano Polking has not yet fully utilized young stars like Dinh Bac, Ly Duc, or foreign player Hugo Gomes. That could be the way Mano Polking calculates, to reserve strength for his team during times when the competition schedule is as dense as now.

Likewise, Nam Dinh FC has not used Hong Duy, Tuan Anh, or some foreign players to their full potential in recent days. The reigning V-League champions still have some "savings" for the stressful days they are about to face. In this difficult time, hopefully the representatives of Vietnamese football in the international arena will show their full potential and ability.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-nghet-tho-cua-cac-dai-dien-viet-nam-o-chau-a-lua-thu-vang-185250915180732063.htm