Eat well to be full, dress well to be warm.
The proverb "eat smart to be full, dress smart to be warm" is true for the average football teams in V.League this year, especially in the matter of recruiting foreign players .
Hai Phong Club, which is stable, quickly chose Paulo Pinto (who used to play for Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh) to replace Mpande. In addition, Lucao and Bicou continued to re-sign their contracts to play for another season.
Meanwhile, Thanh Hoa club focused on keeping Gordon Rimario, Luiz Antonio and Gustavo Santos. They only signed two new foreign players, Kim Won-sik and Yago Ramos. According to coach Popov, Ramos can provide the additional tactical options he needs.
Da Nang Club on the day of returning to V.League did not rush with many noisy contracts. Marlon and Yuri Mamute both have several years of experience playing in Vietnam. The team's coaching staff highly values the ability of foreign players to adapt quickly. By doing this, Da Nang quickly stabilized their force compared to many other opponents.
Some clubs like Quang Nam, Song Lam Nghe An or Ho Chi Minh City have gone through a trial period for “foreigners” before making a decision. Basically, the test has given an initial result. Of course, whether the foreign players are good or not is still a story… only when the tournament starts will we know.
The rich also suffer
This year, coach Le Duc Tuan accepted to lead the Hanoi club in a situation where the team could no longer maintain its previous position. Even in the selection of foreign players, the capital team still could not reassure fans. It was not until the tournament had only 2 weeks left that Hanoi FC announced all 3 foreign players.
In fact, the former V.League champion has tried out South African players as well as a few names with very good resumes. However, the lessons from previous years have made the leaders and coach Duc Tuan himself have many worries.
A player with a good resume but unable to adapt - has become a problem waiting for the coach born in 1982 to solve. In the last few friendly matches, Chidi Kwem - a rookie worth up to 850,000 Euros (nearly 24 billion VND) has not shown much.
This year, the deadline for changing foreign players for V.League teams is extended until mid-October. The change in regulations requires each individual to perform more to avoid the harsh vortex of the tournament.
But from the owners' perspective, they do not want to have to run around looking for new players when the roster is almost finalized.
With strong financial resources, Hanoi Police Club and Viettel The Cong Club also hired 2 more foreign players on “standby” status. If the official player does not meet the requirements or is injured, the decision to replace him will be made immediately.
That said, the "rich" teams are also very careful when selecting and using foreign players before the new season.
