Football

HÀ NỘI — V.League 2017 has found not only new champions in Quảng Nam FC, but also a new best scorer -- Nguyễn Anh Đức.

Đức has made history by ending the 15-year domination of foreign strikers in Việt Nam.

The national forward became the best scorer of the season with 17 goals after scoring a hat trick for Becamex Bình Dương in the last round match against Sanna Khánh Hòa .

He also set a new record as the best local scorer ever, beating the record of 16 goals by Lê Văn Thắng of FLC Thanh Hóa made two years ago.

Before the start of the final round, during which all matches were played at the same time, Đức, Nsi Amougou of Cần Thơ and Errol Stevens of Hải Phòng had the same number of goals at 14.

While Đức was scored the quickest hat trick in his career in the first half against Khánh Hoà, Stevens was quiet during his club’s 0-3 loss to Sài Gòn, and Amougou scored a double, helping Cần Thơ win 3-2 over relegated Long An.

At the same time Rod Dyachenko of Quảng Ninh, who previously pocketed 12 goals, joined the race as he netted a poker to defending champions Hà Nội’s net.

However, Đức finally took the win for the first time his career and became the third Vietnamese to win the title, following Đặng Đạo of Khánh Hòa (11 goals) in the 2000-01 season, and Hồ Văn Lợi of Sài Gòn Port (nine goals) one year later.

Amougou and Dyachenko shared the second position with 16 goals each.

“He displayed his best performance and maintained his peak for the entire season. The difference was that he was allowed to play as the central striker, his favourite place, and he made his mark,” coach Trần Bình Sự of Becamex Bình Dương said.

According to statistics, Đức is also the best local scorer in Southeast Asia.

In the 2017 season, so far, he is the only domestic player to win the title. Foreigners have secured the position in other countries, including powerhouses Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Thailand’s best scorer is Teerasil Dangda, who netted the ball 14 times. In Malaysia, national members Baddrol Bakhtiar and Rahim Safiq scored nine goals each.

The V.League has seen its new champion but Đức and his team Becamex Bình Dương still have one match to play this week. They will face Sông Lam Nghệ An in the second leg match of the National Cup final on Thursday.

 Thirty-two-year-old Đức could further raise his goal tally. According to Soccerway.com, a website that focuses on football live score, results, fixtures and statistics, Đức has scored a total of 79 goals for his current club since 2009.  — VNS