Hoang Anh Gia Lai coach Dusit. His team is expected to be a strong contender for the V- League title this year after buying some good players including American expatriate Lee Nguyen.

Two-time winners and defending champions Binh Duong and last-year’s runners-up Dong Tam Long An continue to be the leading contenders as Vietnam’s top-flight V-League kicks off on Saturday.

Some club coaches are confident they will do well, while others just hope to avoid being relegated to the lower First Division.

Many of them believe that the 2007 and 2008 champions, Binh Duong, and last year’s runners-up Dong Tam Long An (DTLA), who were champions in 2005 and 2006 and winners of the 2005 National Cup and 2006 Super Cup, will be able to win the 2009 V-League championship.

Meanwhile, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), the V-League winners in 2003 and 2004 and the Super Cup winners in 2003 – are also in the running for the title after buying some good players including American expatriate Lee Nguyen who scored a hat-trick in the 3-2 home win over Saigon United in the National Cup opener on Sunday.

The 2009 V-League PetroVietnam Gas 2009 promises to be exciting as Binh Duong is keen to defend its title, HAGL thinks it is within reach, runners-up DTLA are determined to remain in the top three, and The Cong Viettel, T&T Hanoi, Da Nang and Hai Phong all want to be one of the top three well.

Says Da Nang coach Le Huynh Duc: “Winning the championships of the Thanh Nien-sponsored U21 National Tournament and the Binh Duong Television-Station Cup last year has made us confident we can be among the best three teams of the 2009 V-League. Of course, my team must make more improvements. I think Binh Duong and DTLA are the leading competitors. HAGL is now a strong rival, too.”

The Cong coach Vuong Tien Dung feels his “young players have gained a lot of experience,” but is concerned about the goalkeeper. He considers Binh Duong, HAGL, DTLA and Hai Phong very good teams, “but only time will tell.”

T&T Hanoi coach Trieu Quang Ha has his own reasons to believe his team will be strongly competitive this year although they have just been promoted from the First Division.

Ha says they depended too much on foreign players the past few years. This season, they have good domestic players like the best player of the 2008 AFF Cup, goalkeeper Duong Hong

Son, defender Minh Duc and Vietnam’s best striker Le Cong Vinh who moved from Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) late last year.

“I don’t put too much pressure on Vinh. I just expect him to score as many goals as possible. My team will have to compete bitterly with Binh Duong, DTLA, Da Nang and HAGL.”

Meanwhile, coach Alfred Riedl of Hai Phong which was placed third last year, says it will be okay for them to be among the top five or if possible the best three.

Riedl says it is difficult to predict which team will become the champions this year, but concurs with others that holders Binh Duong and DTLA are most likely to emerge on top. He says he cannot comment on HAGL because he doesn’t know much about the Central Highlands team.

The coaches of Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh and newly promoted teams Dong Thap and the Fourth Military Zone say they will just try to avoid being relegated, while other teams like Khatoco Khanh Hoa and Ho Chi Minh City Club expect to end up in the middle of the table.

Even SLNA, the premier football training center of the nation, doesn’t expect to be among the top five. Coach Nguyen Van Thinh says, “The team’s best players have gone so it is extremely hard to get into the top five when clubs like Binh Duong, DTLA, HAGL, Da Nang and Hai Phong are financially very powerful (and can buy good players).”

Reported by L.Phuong-Q.Huy-X.Lam