Trust and concern fall away
If the COVID-19 pandemic had not broken out and caused the 2021 V.League season to be canceled halfway, Hoang Anh Gia Lai club could have had something to salvage, regaining the trust and interest of fans in a training "furnace" oriented towards beautiful football.
At that time, the team from the Mountain City, under coach Kiatisak Senamuang, led the V.League rankings after 12 rounds with 29 points (9 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss). Although there was still more than half of the way left, experts were confident that, in that state, Hoang Anh Gia Lai would have good results if the season ended completely.
But fate teased the ambition of the owner Doan Nguyen Duc, causing the season to be canceled. Since then, Hoang Anh Gia Lai has not entered the Top 5 once - in the 2022 season, it ranked 6th, in the 2023 season, it ranked 10th and was pushed into the relegation group, and in the 2023-2024 season, it ranked 11th with only 2 points more than the team that had to play the play-off to stay in the league.
After many years of becoming a “phenomenon”, creating a wave of special interest in domestic football, the image and brand of Hoang Anh Gia Lai has seriously declined in the eyes of fans. Even though Pleiku Stadium only has a capacity of 12,000 seats, the empty spaces are getting wider and wider.
The 2023-2024 season has an average of 5,115 people/match, although still high compared to the general level in V.League, but compared to themselves it is a decrease (2023 season is 7,278, 2022 season is 7,000, 2021 season has no specific statistics but 2020 season also has 6,812 people/match).
Not stopping there, the first generation of stars from Hoang Anh Gia Lai training center also left one after another, from Xuan Truong, Cong Phuong, Van Thanh, Hong Duy, Tuan Anh, Van Toan, even the beloved coach Kiatisak was "loaned out" before parting ways. Only Minh Vuong remained, the player famous for the status line "spending all his youth to stay in the league" on his personal page...
Mr. Duc himself also had to find a combination to maintain the existence of the team. As a result, fans gradually lost interest and watched less of Hoang Anh Gia Lai's matches.
Change from the bottom of despair
The feeling of disappointment that was highest in the Mountain City was probably the period when they had 9 consecutive rounds of being ranked in the bottom 2 positions of the 2023-2024 season. The subsequent appearance of Mr. Vu Tien Thanh on the coaching chair "reduced the romance", increased "pragmatism", so that the team could successfully stay in the league. It can be said that this was a period of time that marked the improvement at Hoang Anh Gia Lai.
And this season, when Mr. Vu Tien Thanh moved to the role of Technical Director, handing over the coaching position to former player Le Quang Trai, Hoang Anh Gia Lai had a surprising start in V.League 2024-2025. With 2 consecutive wins, scoring 6 goals, and conceding none, they soon took the top spot.
In the summer transfer season, there was not too much noise but mainly still trusted young players - including Tran Gia Bao, only 16 years old, it can be said that Hoang Anh Gia Lai is adding a lot of confidence to itself. Of course, Quang Nam and Song Lam Nghe An are not strong opponents to "test the fire" but they are also a very important foundation. In terms of psychology, a good start brings a good feeling of psychology so that the team and each individual player understands what they can do.
That confidence will certainly be important as round 3 is the match against defending champions Nam Dinh. If they can get more positive results, Hoang Anh Gia Lai can continue their upward momentum in the away match against SHB Da Nang - a team that has just returned to V.League. The FIFA Days break in October is the time to prepare for more difficult matches against Dong A Thanh Hoa, Becamex Binh Duong, Cong An Ha Noi, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, Hai Phong before V.League gives way to the national team.
Success from small steps will contribute to great success, Hoang Anh Gia Lai fans certainly hope for that.
