VietNamNet
Bridge - HCM City football has shown intentions of putting a stop to its
shameful results over the last two years at local football competitions as HCM
City and Navibank Sai Gon football clubs have revamped their teams for the new
season.

During the last weekend of the 2009 V-League season, the city
football witnessed the relegation of two clubs.

Sai Gon United was relegated to the Second Division despite a 2-0
win over Hoa Phat Ha Noi in the last match, and one day later, HCM City also
suffered the same fate with a 3-2 defeat by Binh Duong.

There was no escaping the fact that city football had no
representative in the 2010 V-League until Navibank Bank surprisingly bought the
Military Zone 4 football club. They renamed it Navibank Sai Gon and chose Thong
Nhat Stadium as its home ground.

However, Navibank Sai Gon was struggling at the bottom of the
table throughout the season.

The club was relegated, but the fact that there were six fewer
clubs in the First Division operating as a business handed Navibank a play-off
with Quang Ninh. They escaped from relegation with a 2-0 win.

After being demoted to the First Division, HCM City continued its
poor performance and had a disappointing season and only until the last round
did the club escape from demotion.

Change for better

But the upcoming 2011 V-League season, the so-called professional
football season, could be a different story as city-based clubs have made moves
to build their teams that not only have survived the relegation but also have
enough ability to move into the top half of the ranking.

Navibank splashed out a considerable amount of money on players,
bringing in qualified strikers Nguyen Quang Hai from Khanh Hoa,
Brazilian-Vietnamese striker Huynh Kesley Alves from Binh Duong and midfielder
Luong Van Duoc Em from Dong Thap.

While Hai is the most prolific local striker last season with 13
goals, veteran Huynh Kesley has stamped his authority onto the V-League with
his vast experience. Duoc Em was considered a promising young player last
season.

“With new players joining the team and good preparation, we
will try to finish the 2011 V-League at least in the middle of the table. We
hope that the worries over the relegation will not be repeated,” said Mai
Duc Chung, head coach of Navibank Sai Gon.

By recruiting a foreign coach and bringing in some new faces, HCM
City, the successor of the famous Sai Gon Port, has also made its intentions
clear that they do not want to be a contender for the relegation in the next
nine months.

The club recently signed a contract with Croatian coach Vjeran
Simunic and hired Singaporean coach Robert Lim as a technical consultant. They
have also recruited foreign players Lima and Cokolic from fellow club TDC Binh
Duong.

Coach Simunic said that his team was ready for the new season. He
believes the club will not have to face a battle to avoid relegation, as they
did last season.

Source: VNS