Hanoi FC spent millions of dollars to buy foreign players to play in the Asian tournament

Hanoi FC won the 2022 V-League championship, thereby representing Vietnam in the 2023-2024 AFC Champions League. The team is in Group J with defending champion Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), three-time crowned Pohang Steelers (South Korea) and 2022 Chinese champion Wuhan Three Towns.

Responding to MetaSports on the morning of September 18, Mr. Quang admitted that Hanoi FC fell into a difficult group, because the opponents were all among the strongest in the continent's leading football platforms. But, he is optimistic about the home team's chances. "Many people think that it will be difficult for Hanoi FC to win in this group. But we will take advantage of the home field, with careful preparation, with the goal of becoming the first Vietnamese team to surpass through the group stage, the most prestigious playground on the continent for clubs," he said.

Hanoi FC, formerly known as Hanoi T&T Club, was founded by boss Do Quang Hien in 2006. The team quickly rose to become the most successful club in Vietnam with six V-League championships, three National Cups, five Vietnam Super Cup, and reached the AFC Cup Inter-regional final in 2019. The capital team also trains many good players, often the club contributing the most players to the team, with famous faces. Outstanding players like Do Hung Dung, Do Duy Manh, Nguyen Quang Hai, Doan Van Hau...

"Reaching out to the continent is the club's goal," Mr. Quang added. "After many times missing the opportunity to participate in the AFC Champions League, this year we determined that this is a very important goal for the club. Hanoi FC soon began preparations."

According to the head of Hanoi FC, preparations for the AFC Champions League begin with the club finding a head coach with rich experience in this playground and qualified with an AFC degree - that is Bozidar Bandovic. Next, right after understanding the regulations that teams can use six foreign players in this playground, Hanoi FC agreed to use the maximum to be able to compete with the top teams on the continent.

Hanoi FC only retains three foreign players who play well in V-League 2023: Marcao Silva, Milan Jevtovic and Caion. They also recruited three more stars, including Camaroon international striker Joel Tagueu, who played in the Portuguese, Brazilian and Saudi Arabia national championships, and a French midfielder who played for Dortmund led by coach Jurgen Klopp, Damien Le Tallec. , and the striker was born in 1997, trained at the English club Burnley and once played for Australia's U23 Brandon Wilson.

Hanoi FC's six foreign soldiers were valued by Transfermarkt at about 3 million USD. The cost to cover this group of foreign players is also very expensive, ranging from 400,000 USD to 500,000 USD per player per year.

According to Mr. Quang, inviting high-class foreign soldiers to Vietnam is not easy. Many years ago, Hanoi FC wanted to have players worth millions of dollars but failed because Vietnamese football was not yet popular, so players in Europe only knew about Thailand or Malaysia. Furthermore, Hanoi FC has not yet been able to participate in continental tournaments, making foreign players shy. "But now it's different. The team has had good results domestically and has tickets for continental tournaments. Combined with our financial ability, we have been able to convince the foreign players we want," he said.

The Chairman of Hanoi FC also expects that in the coming years, quality foreign soldiers will not only come to Hanoi FC but also join other teams in Vietnam, thereby contributing to improving the quality of the V-League, to win prizes. reaching out to the continent.

Besides professional factors, Hanoi FC also wants to maintain its image in organizing competitions. Therefore, the team rented My Dinh National Stadium to play home matches in the AFC Champions League group stage.

Hanoi FC worked with the Management Board of My Dinh National Sports Complex, proposing to proactively spend its own funds and use a team of experts to improve the turf and maintain good quality when playing the AFC Champions. League. Previously, this stadium was criticized by the Australian media as "half-eaten cow grass" when the Vietnamese team received their opponents in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Despite valuing the regional arena, Hanoi FC does not take domestic tournaments lightly, even aiming to reclaim the domestic championships lost last season. According to Mr. Quang, the two direct competitors will be Hanoi Police - the defending V-League champion, and Nam Dinh - the team that spends a lot of money to invest in internal and foreign soldiers for the new season.

Hanoi FC finished last season's V-League in second place, with the same 38 points as Hanoi Police but with a lower goal difference (13 vs 18). At the National Cup, they failed to defend their title when they lost to Viettel in the 1/8 round.