The arduous path of coaching in the V-League

LPBank The 2025/26 V-League has witnessed numerous coaching staff shake-ups. Are these moves just emergency patches or part of a bigger plan for each team?

1. As the 2025/26 season heads toward its decisive final rounds, a startling statistic emerges: 16 head coaches have already left their posts before the season ended. This is an unprecedented record in the league's history, highlighting governance gaps and a lack of patience among many domestic clubs.

After Coach Chu Đình Nghiêm left Hải Phòng to join Ninh Bình FC, Coach Vũ Tiến Thành also departed the ancient capital team to return to HAGL, where he will serve as Academy Director and directly assist Coach Lê Quang Trãi in keeping the mountain city club in the top flight. The return of "rescue specialist" Vũ Tiến Thành is seen as a crucial boost for HAGL, which has shown clear signs of fatigue in the home stretch, while also paving the way for Coach Chu Đình Nghiêm to take over at Ninh Bình FC.

The cases of coaches Vũ Tiến Thành and Chu Đình Nghiêm highlight the sudden "rotation and reassignment" trend that has become a hallmark of this V-League season. Setting aside long-term considerations, it's clear that the race for the top three or survival has played a major role in these upheavals—specifically the contrasting objectives of Ninh Bình FC and HAGL at opposite ends of the table, with one team threatened in third place from above and the other facing relegation.

Every club change has its reasons, but the goals differ. For instance, Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức making way for assistant Phùng Thanh Phương at CLB CATP.HCM, or Coach Đặng Văn Thành replacing Coach Chu Đình Nghiêm at Hải Phòng—these moves aimed to change fortunes or initiate a transition once safety was secured. Meanwhile, coaches Văn Sỹ Sơn, Phan Như Thuật, Vũ Hồng Việt, and Trần Tiến Đại stepped in when SLNA, Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh, Nam Định, and PVF CAND showed signs of decline. As of now, only three clubs (CAHN, Thể Công Viettel, SHB Đà Nẵng) have not changed their commanders, making 17 personnel shifts across 11 teams—"quite a lot," really. Notably, five foreign coaches lost their jobs: Teguramori Makoto (Hà Nội FC), Mauro Jeronimo (Nam Định), Choi Won Kwon (Thanh Hóa), Gerard Albadalejo (Ninh Bình FC), and Ueno Nobuhiro (Becamex TP.HCM).

2. When the "trend" of changing commanders is no longer exceptional, the V-League shows itself to become more fierce and calculating as it nears its end. This could reflect an exhaustion of patience among club owners with old models, the burden of results, or the costly fear of "starting over." But it could also be a case of "picking anyone" amid a scarcity of good coaches, or a proactive "refresh" for long-term goals.

Looking past the "firefighting" aspect and from a positive angle, the wave of personnel revolutions at many clubs can be seen as a shift in football management philosophy—from reactive reflexes to more proactive governance. In other words, prioritizing long-term strategy over short-term campaigns. However, not all clubs have the resources to do this, as many still struggle to "make ends meet" or must "cut their coat according to their cloth." As a result, the V-League is increasingly polarized, with the advantage always going to those "strong from rice and bold from money." This also leads to the season's champions and relegation candidates being "planned out" before the ball even rolls.

Professional football demands a systematic building process where coaches need time to impose their philosophy. Yet in the V-League, the role of the coach is being excessively personalized. They are the first to take the blame for failure, regardless of objective factors like finances or the club's operational model. If management methods and governance thinking do not soon shift toward sustainability, the V-League will continue to struggle on its path to development and elevation.

Truly, the lot of a V-League coach is a "bitter journey."