Is CAHN the strongest team in V-League history?

As CAHN's championship victory becomes merely a matter of time, people begin discussing the milestones this team could achieve to become the most powerful collective in V-League history within a specific season. However, the current numbers indicate even more than that.

Coach Alexandre Polking's team is not simply leading the standings; they are demonstrating a formidable style of football, far surpassing all competitors in the championship race. CAHN's strength is built on the foundation of a comprehensively superior squad, from offense, defense to squad depth. After 19 rounds, CAHN leads the league with 48 points, creating a gap of up to 7 points over the second-placed team, Viettel.

They have scored 44 goals, the strongest offense in the league, and conceded only 15 goals, sharing the position of the most solid defense alongside Viettel. A goal difference of +29 is an overwhelmingly superior figure, reflecting CAHN's ability to dominate both attack and control the match absolutely.

Let's pause at these numbers. In 2018, Hanoi FC created the most dominant season in V-League history. That year, Coach Chu Dinh Nghiem's team set numerous records for points (64), wins (20), goal difference (+42), and a massive gap over the following teams. It was a season where Hanoi FC possessed a talented squad returning from Changzhou after their runner-up achievement in the U23 Asian Cup, combined with existing stars at their peak like Van Quyet, Thanh Luong...

But CAHN could potentially perform even better. Up to this point, they have achieved 15 victories while the league still has 7 rounds remaining. In 2018, after round 19, Hanoi FC had only performed similarly (15 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss). The only statistic where Hanoi FC surpassed is a goal difference of +33 and a 14-point lead over the next team.

However, this precisely highlights CAHN's strength compared to the city's team eight years ago. Hanoi FC's superiority in 2018 was significantly "contributed" by their opponents. After round 19 eight years prior, the team following Hanoi FC was Khanh Hoa, which had only won 9 matches; next were Thanh Hoa, SLNA, and Than Quang Ninh with 8 wins each.

What about this season? Viettel (12 wins), Ninh Binh (11), and Hanoi FC (10) are the teams ranked next, including two former champions and a newcomer possessing national team and U23 players.

This means CAHN's competing opponents are much higher quality compared to Hanoi FC in the 2018 season. The numbers held by CAHN's opponents are all very high.

After round 19 of the two most recent seasons, the champions Nam Dinh had only 12 and 10 wins respectively. The number of wins that Viettel, Ninh Binh, or Hanoi FC currently possess would be sufficient for them to win a normal V-League season if not for CAHN's dominance. According to average statistics, winning a championship in a season with 14 teams requires at least 14 victories.

In other words, this is the most competitive season of V-League in recent years, evidenced by the relegation battle still being undecided and theoretically, the championship race remains open to at least four teams.

But precisely because of this, the 7-point gap created by CAHN demonstrates their power. With 7 rounds remaining, Coach Polking and his students can completely win another 6 matches, score at least 20 more goals to establish a unique position in the league's history.

However, challenges still exist: Among the 4 matches where CAHN could not secure full 3 points up to now, 1 draw (against PVF – CAND) and 1 loss (Hanoi FC) occurred in the last 6 matches.