Vietnamese Football in AFC Champions League: Looking at Others and Reflecting on Ourselves

Thailand, with its Thai Premier League, has nominated outstanding representatives such as Buriram United, Ratchaburi, or Bangkok United, advancing deep into AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two. Even Malaysia with Johor DT or Singapore's Tampines Rover have reached the quarter-finals of the continent's top tournaments. What about our V-League?

V-League representatives competing in continental arenas over the past three years, like Nam Dinh or CAHN, have all stopped early in the first knockout matches, even from the group stage. This shows that the conquering capability of Vietnamese clubs in continental competitions is limited.

Instead of upgrading Vietnamese professional football leagues, many involved individuals are only busy with their own games, competing against each other. That is why, for 26 years since the inception of V-League, the tournament remains confined to a limited scale. We once appeared very strong when facing each other, even in relay races, but outside the S-shaped land, V-League is nothing.

When Vietnamese professional football leagues, which are the body of the football foundation and constitute strength for national teams, still have many issues, it is difficult to demand more. Vietnamese football lacks the capacity to export players, so the domestic league determines the outcome of the final product: the national team.

No one can deny that, for many reasons, V-League is losing value—not only commercially but also professionally. We must seriously reconsider its existence to propose solutions. And that requires a specific roadmap.

In this season's V-League, hardly any team can compete with CAHN. This team does not need any relay race, even if they have the conditions to use it and if necessary, because they are too strong. Eliminating the opponent's strength by taking away all their essence is the basic philosophy of military strategy. Military tactics and football are somewhat similar.

Ultimately, Vietnamese football at the club level is a matter for those with money. The rules of the game are based on wealthy clubs, and the world is the same—profit is paramount...

The intrinsic strength of the football foundation at this point no longer depends on Academies or Youth Training Centers as before. Vietnamese football must confront and compete with top football foundations if it wants to rise. Otherwise, it's just skimming the surface, self-comforting. U23 is never the national team; only the national team determines the status of football, alongside the national championship league.

Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, or Singapore have invested heavily to build the body of their football foundations. What about us? We receive but spend very little.

In the coming time, Vietnamese football may fall behind. Believe it or not.