The Paradox of HAGL Club

Once the person who understood HAGL better than anyone, Coach Vu Tien Thanh moved to Ninh Binh and immediately defeated his former team. The paradox lies in the fact that the issues he pointed out at Ninh Binh are now more evident than ever at HAGL, pushing Mr. Duc's club into the relegation spiral.

The 1-2 defeat against Ninh Binhin round 17 was a sad ending for the home team at Pleiku Stadium. It was not just a stumble forHAGLbut also cruel because Mr. Duc's team lost to the very person who was sent away on loan.

HAGL played decently and led, had a goal denied that would have doubled the lead, and ultimately lost in the final minutes.

Ironically, after arriving in Ninh Binh to coach the ancient capital's team replacing Coach Gerard Castano, Coach Vu Tien Thanh bluntly stated Ninh Binh's weakness was fitness. The five-week break had prevented Ninh Binh from returning to its true form, leading to consecutive losses and losing the top spot.

But in the victory over HAGL,Coach Vu Tien Thanhattacked strongly, exploiting the weakness of losing late goals at Pleiku Stadium's home team to secure 3 points. The current situation seems opposite for HAGL after his departure.

While serving as Technical Director at HAGL, Vu Tien Thanh was seen as the "tactical brain," even having greater influence than head coach Le Quang Trai in team operations. He didn't build a visually pleasing HAGL, but created a sufficiently pragmatic collective to survive. That pragmatism helped the Mountain Town club successfully avoid relegation last season, despite increasingly thin squad depth.

After Mr. Thanh left, the Mountain Town team played decently for about 60-70 minutes, but nearly collapsed in the final 20 minutes. The loss to Ho Chi Minh City Police, the 3-3 draw conceded in stoppage time against SHB Da Nang, and the defeat to Ninh Binh are typical examples.

HAGL has conceded 26 goals, among the worst in the league, only slightly better than the two bottom teams. The attack isn't much better with just 15 goals, ranking second from the bottom. Weak attack and poor defense mean HAGL's 12th place after round 17 is unsurprising.

Under Coach Le Quang Trai, HAGL hasn't shown signs of improvement. In the last three rounds, they only earned 1 point, continuing a downward slide after a brief upturn at the end of the first half.

The challenges ahead are even more severe. HAGL could fall further as in round 18, this club must visit Thiên Trường Stadium of Nam Dinh. Xuan Son is poised to "shoot down" Trung Kien with his impressive scoring form returning. This player contributed greatly to Coach Vu Hong Viet's return to the coaching cabin as Nam Dinh won five consecutive matches.

The greatest paradox of HAGL isn't that they are weak, but that they understand where they are weak yet cannot fix it. What Mr. Thanh just mentioned at Ninh Binh is happening at his former club HAGL.