On the evening of August 16, in the opening match of V.League 2025-2026, Ho Chi Minh City Police Club won 2-1 against Hanoi FC. Tien Linh and Huy Toan were the two players who scored for Ho Chi Minh City Police. On the other side of the front line, Van Tung scored the only goal for the capital representative.
Speaking at the press conference, coach Le Huynh Duc of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Club praised captain striker Nguyen Tien Linh.
He said: "Today, Tien Linh worked aggressively and effectively. If Tien Linh is effectively supported, it will be better. He will be more effective with more supporting satellites and imposed play. When he retreated deep, Tien Linh had difficulty".
"Today I want the players to create an image of solidarity and show determination, that is the most desirable thing. How to compete passionately but still be beautiful, determined to win. Today they did very well, with good spirit, and the players competed with all their might. The physical foundation was not enough, the players were exhausted in the second half but still did their best," coach Le Huynh Duc added.
Mr. Duc also said that the Ho Chi Minh City Police team is forced to choose tactics depending on personnel and not according to the coach's philosophy: "I don't like the 5-3-2 formation much, because this formation is more defensive, while I like the attacking style of play. However, there is no other choice because the players are still struggling. The current strategy is based on existing people, not my will. Before that, we practiced with another strategy, but when we got into the game, we had to choose this formation."
On the other side of the makoto Teguram front line, there are also many compliments for the Ho Chi Minh City Police.
"In the first match, we did not have much information about Ho Chi Minh City Police. The coaching staff can only predict today's lineup, including both foreign and domestic players. Regarding the playing style, they chose to defend against the attack and today the other team did very well," the Japanese coach shared.
Mr Makoto Teguramori also said that Hendrio is in the process of naturalization: "In Hendrio's case, he is in the process of completing the documents so he cannot participate today. I can't say anything more about him at the moment. At the beginning of the season, we considered whether to register him as a foreign player or a naturalized player, and finally decided to go through naturalization procedures and are still in the process of completion."
