Football

Coach Vũ Hòng Việt of Nam Định (left) and Mano Polking of the Police in the press conference on August 5. — Photos courtesy of Tiền Phong Newspaper

HÀ NỘI — The 26th National Super Cup between powerhouse Thép Xanh Nam Định and Hà Nội Police on August 9 will mark the beginning of the national football 2025-26 season.

It is always a match between V.League 1 champions and National Cup winner (Hà Nội Police) on the first team's home ground.

Nam Định showed their strength throughout last season with 17 wins, six draws and only three losses. They secured 57 points to top the ranking table, leaving all other teams far below with a gap of eight points to the nearest rival.

The team under coach Vũ Hồng Việt not only successfully defended their title but also had the best front line which scored 51 goals and best defence and goalkeeper who conceded only 18 goals.

In the upcoming match, they will have an advantage of local supporters who have been well-known as dedicated followings and vibrant stadium atmospheres at the Thiên Trường Stadium in Ninh Bình Province.

The Police meanwhile made impressive performance in the National Cup competition. Coach Mano Polking guided his team to beat the dark horse Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh in the first round. They continued beating powerful Hải Phòng and Thể Công Viettel in the knockout-rounds. In the final, they trounced former V.League 1 champions Sông Lam Nghệ An 5-0 to lift their trophy for the first time.

According to the organisers, Tiền Phong Newspapers and Việt Nam Football Federation, a representative of the world football governing body FIFA will attend the match where the new Special Super Cup version will be presented to the winner.

The new version of the National Super Cup.

The Cup is designed following the shape of the national Đông Sơn bronze drum and wings of Lạc (a legendary bird of Việt Nam). It is a made of silver-plated bronze and completely handcrafted product by famous artisans.

Speaking at the press conference on August 5 in Hà Nội, Phùng Công Sưởng, editor-in-Chief of Tiền Phong (The Vanguard) newspaper and co-head of the organising committee, said: "All preparation works for the National Super Cup have been completed, ready to wait for the actions.

"We look forward to receiving active cooperation from all related partners in particular and Ninh Bình in general and hope to see large number of fans fulfilling up the stands, contributing to promoting the development of national football".

Coach Polking said: "It will be the first match after a long break; perhaps the fans have been missing the field very much. This is a match between the two best teams at the moment. Both have quality national members and new foreign players. I hope that after the final whistle, we will be the ones to lift the championship trophy."

In respond, coach Việt said: "We can't say anything until the match is kicked off. This is an important match for both teams, opening the new season. Both are determined to win. Last year Nam Định won the Cup, and this year we want to lift it again when playing at home." 

Ninh Bình supporters will be big advantage for Nam Định in the National Super Cup match on August 9.

The VAR will also applied in this match to ensure the fairness of the match which will be live aired on FPT Play and VTV channels and social networks of the organisers.

The winning team will walk away with the newly-designed trophy and VNĐ300 million (US$11,400) while the losing club will take VNĐ200 million.

The opening goal scorer and MVP will pocket VNĐ10 million each. — VNS