I return, I bathe in my pond
Hanoi Police Club started the 2025-2026 season with the aspiration to conquer 4 fronts from domestic to international. But after halfway, what coach Mano Polking and his team have in hand is only V.League.
The Vietnamese representative was eliminated early in the group stage of the Southeast Asian Club Championship, then also lost in the 1/8 round of the AFC Champions League Two due to an incident of not grasping the regulations. In the National Cup, Quang Hai and his teammates soon became former champions when they stopped in the 1/8 round against The Cong Viettel.
Up to now, the focus of Hanoi Police Club is also on the V.League. This is a tournament where they are leading the race with 29 points after 11 matches (2 matches not played). The Police sector team is temporarily at least 2 points ahead of the chasing opponents behind. If they take advantage of 1-2 make-up matches, Hanoi Police will widen the point gap in the rankings, thereby having an additional competitive advantage with Ninh Binh, The Cong Viettel or Hanoi FC.
Of course, that only stops at the story of advantage. The second leg of V.League 2025-2026 still has 13 rounds for candidates to hope to overcome Hanoi Police in the long-distance corner. Ninh Binh Club is an opponent that coach Poking cannot be subjective about. They are currently ranked 2nd and 2 points behind the Capital representative. Even if Hanoi Police win 2 match-fixing matches, the gap between the two sides has only increased to 8 points. This number is large but not impossible to close, especially when in the second leg, the championship candidates will continue to face each other continuously through many rounds.
To prepare for the difficult period, Ninh Binh is actively recruiting players. Especially in the mid-season transfer window, they brought in Truong Tien Anh from The Cong Viettel.
In addition, the V.League newcomer also has the service of many quality factors from Thanh Hoa such as Hoang Thai Binh, Nguyen Thai Son, Le Van Thuan... This helps coach Gerard Albadalejo's team to be elevated in strength.
Teams are starting to get into gear
The V.League championship 2025-2026 is not just a "double-horse" race between Ninh Binh or Hanoi Police. Looking at the rankings and V.League situation, some other candidates are ready to wait for an opportunity to rise up.
The Cong Viettel, although losing Truong Tien Anh in the second leg, is still a team with great potential. The army team has some personnel additions during the recent V.League break. Not to mention, the transfer market in phase 2 has not closed, The Cong Viettel can completely consolidate more forces in midfield. This will be the foundation for coach Popov's team to be ready to compete with the champion group.
Meanwhile, Hanoi FC is gradually returning to the championship race thanks to the discipline in Mr. Harry Kewell's coaching style. The former Liverpool legend helped the Capital team have 3 wins and 1 draw in the last 4 rounds. Not only helping Hanoi FC rise to 4th place, coach Kewell also created diversity in attacking style for his students.
In the last 4 rounds, Hanoi is the team with the most goals scored by players, and also shows efficiency in counter-attacks, defense and also unpredictability in approaching the opponent's goal from Tuan Hai, Hai Long, Hung Dung or Daniel Passira...
More importantly, Hanoi FC regained its "giant" position when gradually achieving good results against the championship contender. The draw against defending champion Nam Dinh right at Thien Truong is considered a morale boost for the Hang Day home team to be more confident in phase 2 of the V.League.
It would be a shortcoming to rush to remove Ho Chi Minh City Police Club from the group of candidates. The Southern team is currently ranked 6th with a 9-point gap from the leading team. However, with 13 second leg matches, everything can completely change after only 2-3 matches. Under the hand of coach Le Huynh Duc, the squad combining youth and experience of Ho Chi Minh City Police is gradually entering form.
