Ho Chi Minh City’s lost reputation as a powerhouse of football has either infuriated or perplexed the legions of fans and pundits who remember the days of glory.

While many fans and commentators lay the blame squarely on the officials in charge of football in the southern metropolis, others are finding the demotion hard to take in.

To them it’s like London failing to field a team in the English Premier League, or Rome missing out on Serie A, or Madrid absent from La Liga.

Ho Chi Minh City is the country’s commercial hub and it is unbelievable that no rich corporate sponsor has been found to help the city dig itself out of the deep hole it is in.

The disappointed fans are clamoring for the Sports Department and the HCMC Football Federation to do something constructive.

Nguyen Xuan Thai, who ran the Saigon Port club a while back, says the people in charge must roll up their sleeves and get cracking without delay.

“The players no longer believe the promises; they want to see immediate benefits. And a lot of financial support needs to be found,” Thai insists.

Former coach Pham Huynh Tam Lang says that, in view of its national eminence (apart from football), Ho Chi Minh City must have a team in the V-League, and it’s up to the powers-that-be to make the sort of changes that matter.

“The city doesn’t lack talent, but support is needed to get people working together. To this end, the city should do more to develop youth football,” Lang says.

Le Hung Dung, president of the HCMC Football Federation, says it’s unfair to blame his organization for everything that’s gone wrong and reckons club managers should shoulder more of the responsibility.

There have been calls for a crisis meeting of everyone involved but Dung dismisses the idea as pointless since such gatherings usually degenerate into slanging matches and nothing good comes out of them.

Dung says he is willing to resign if anyone claims to be able to return the city to the highest level of football.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff