HAGL's proud top position

SHOCK NAMED HAGL

Before the V-League 2024 - 2025, HAGL was not highly appreciated. The player force in the hands of coach Vu Tien Thanh (this season he moved to become the Technical Director of HAGL Club, taking the coach's seat is Quang Trai) has almost no "added" stars compared to last season. HAGL's squad this season is extremely young, with 7 players under 22 years old, notably Tran Gia Bao (born in 2008). The immature youth made HAGL struggle last season, and had to wait until the final round to officially stay in the league.

HAGL (left cover) convincingly leads the table after round 1

However, the careful preparation for the season, especially in physical training, which is Mr. Vu Tien Thanh's forte, has helped HAGL "transform". The mountain town team won the friendly tournament in Ho Chi Minh City with a tight playing style, although leaning towards scientific counter-attacking defense, but attacking very quickly and effectively. Although there were no more stars, after 1 year, HAGL players began to get used to Mr. Vu Tien Thanh's training method. Then the results came right in the opening match of V-League 2024 - 2025. Quang Nam Club is not a weak team, as evidenced by the fact that last season, coach Van Sy Son and his team quickly found a safe position in the relegation race. The Central team is also considered to have a unique and thorny playing style. However, in the match at Hoa Xuan Stadium at 5:00 p.m. yesterday, September 15, Quang Nam team collapsed before HAGL's effective tactics. Newcomer Marciel Silva shone with 2 goals, alongside the goals of Chau Ngoc Quang and Gia Bao.

The bright spot of HAGL, besides the resounding victory, was also the 4 goals from the sharp wing play. Sharing with Thanh Nien , Coach Vu Tien Thanh affirmed that HAGL must "cut their coat according to their cloth", build a playing style suitable for the quality of their personnel, cannot just attack naively, but need to be more calculating and pragmatic. That is why last season HAGL had to switch to a rough and "iron" playing style to survive. Learning from the poor start with only 2 points after 7 matches in V-League 2023 - 2024, this season HAGL has accelerated right from the starting line to accumulate each point. Although it is still early to confirm whether the Pleiku home team can make a difference, or Technical Director Vu Tien Thanh and Coach Quang Trai can create another phenomenon like the Saigon team in V-League 2020, but for HAGL, wherever it rains... it is cool.

With a stable basic force in terms of personnel, well-integrated foreign players and many young factors to refresh the playing style, if HAGL really plays tightly and knows themselves and their opponents in the style of coach Vu Tien Thanh, this team will be worth watching.

DO N'T UNDERESTIMATE THE "UNDERDOOR"

The opening round of V-League 2024-2025 is witnessing a big surprise. On the opening day, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's Binh Duong team came from behind to defeat Thanh Hoa thanks to a double from Tien Linh. Winning in the "fire pan" of Thanh Hoa is never easy, especially when the opponent is behind. However, Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan's team has the courage to overcome the initial difficulties, showing a tight playing style and taking advantage of opportunities very well.

Also winning thanks to taking advantage of the opportunity is Ha Tinh Club, the team that stayed in the league thanks to winning the play-off match last season, now just blocked the way of the defending champion Nam Dinh . The counter-attacking style of play, taking advantage of the lightning-fast transitions from defense to attack, which is the specialty of coach Nguyen Thanh Cong, combined with the home field advantage, helped Ha Tinh block the strongest attack of last season, taking 3 very important points.

Meanwhile, for Nam Dinh Club, the defeat against Ha Tinh signals a difficult 2024-2025 season, as opponents can predict the way the team from Thanh Nam operates, and foreign players like Hendrio Araujo and Rafaelson are increasingly being "taken care of". The unfortunate loss of victory was the case of Hanoi Police Club when they led Hai Phong at Lach Tray Stadium for most of the time, but coach Alexandre Polking's team was equalized in the 95th minute.

Closing the first round of V-League, HAGL topped the table with 3 points, goal difference +4. Following them were Binh Duong, Hanoi and Ha Tinh - all candidates to enjoy the joy of victory on the opening day. Meanwhile, in the bottom group were Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa.

Round 1 results

Thanh Hoa 1-2 Binh Duong

Ha Tinh 1-0 Nam Dinh

Hanoi 1-0 Binh Dinh

Quang Nam 0-4 HAGL

SLNA 0-0 Da Nang

Ho Chi Minh City 0-0 The Cong Viettel

Hai Phong 1-1 Hanoi Police

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngoi-dau-hien-ngang-cua-hagl-185240915235033924.htm