The escape of pillars
Before the 2025-2026 V.League, Hoang Anh Gia Lai club suffered a huge loss in personnel when a series of pillars who were "attached to the youth" also said goodbye to the team from the mountain town.
Chau Ngoc Quang, Le Van Son, Dung Quang Nho, Tran Bao Toan... and even Tran Minh Vuong - the name that once affirmed "using all his youth to stay in the league" in Hoang Anh Gia Lai also left, looking for destinations with ambition in the new season, the new team instead of struggling to find a place to stay in the league on the mountain town.
For nearly a decade, the Pleiku team has never experienced a major personnel change like in the 2025-2026 season. Before that, the time when Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh, Van Toan... left, it happened in a "drip" way through the seasons. That is, the team from the Mountain City still has a stable capital framework to prepare for the new season, with products trained by the team itself, not... running away like this year's season.
And it is also easy to see that after the great men left, Hoang Anh Gia Lai began to reveal weaknesses, gaps in both expertise, experience and spirit. The 0-3 loss to Becamex HCMC right at Pleiku Stadium on the opening day of V.League 2025-2026 said that.
Practical playing style is not enough
To fill the gaps after the big players left, the Pleiku home team brought in 4 players who had grown up at Hoang Anh Gia Lai Academy and NutiFood JMG, Hoang Vinh Nguyen Tran Gia Huy, Tuan Vu, Duy Tam and overseas Vietnamese player Ryan Ha. But clearly, these names are hard to compare with the "brothers" who have left.
In addition, the team from the Mountain City also makes the most of 4 foreign players with the expectation that they will carry the playing style and be a spiritual support for other young players. This also shows that Hoang Anh Gia Lai aims for practicality in playing style, instead of maintaining their inherent identity.
In fact, the team from the Mountain City in recent seasons, especially under Mr. Vu Tien Thanh as a coach or Technical Director, has also played practical football, even rough, extreme to find points, no longer "the good and the bad are happy" as Mr. Duc predicted in the past year.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai accepts the change, but what this team has had this season, especially in terms of personnel, is not enough to ease their worries.
The 0-3 loss to Becamex HCMC right at home on the day of the tournament was enough to speak to the problems of the team from the mountain town. At least in the last 5 seasons, no season has Hoang Anh Gia Lai had such a bad start.
No longer playing well, beautiful football, or playing with identity, Hoang Anh Gia Lai accepted practicality and football for achievements. But with what they have, do you think the Mountain City team will have enough courage to overcome the pressures and difficulties? Especially in the context of the next 3 rounds, they will face 3 very strong opponents: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City Police and Hanoi Police.
