Thanh Hoa's New Season: From 18 Players to 'High Position' Ambition – The Sustainability Equation

On the morning of September 4, at the youth training center of Thanh Hoa FC, I noted a small but telling detail. When the coaching staff split the squad into two opposing sides, there were so many blue shirts that an assistant coach had to borrow yellow bibs from the youth team. A year ago, a similar training session had only 18 players – enough for two teams but with no substitutes. Today, that number is 30. The training ground does not lie; we just lack the patience to listen. And what the training ground is telling us is this: Thanh Hoa has changed, but is that change enough to turn ambition into reality? The context of the 2026/27 season for Thanh Hoa is unlike any other team in the V-League. Last season, they finished 11th with only 18 registered players – a rare number in Vietnam's top flight. The team survived the most difficult season in their history through disciplined defensive organization and the fighting spirit of a group pushed to the wall. Head coach Mai Xuan Hop, retained after the leadership transition, achieved what many considered a miracle: staying up with an extraordinarily thin squad. But football does not operate on fairy-tale logic. The arrival of new Chairman Le Xuan Tuong – a businessman behind T-Group and Thang Long Mechanical Tools Joint Stock Company – has opened a new chapter. The club registered 26 domestic players, 4 foreigners, and 1 overseas Vietnamese player, bringing the total to 31. This number falls within the V-League standard range (28–35 players), but what matters is not quantity but quality and operational approach. The four foreign players were recruited with a clear strategy: two midfielders (Abdurakhmanov from Uzbekistan, Lovric Di Mateo) and two strikers (Monteiro Martins, Guindo). No foreign center-back, no foreign goalkeeper. This suggests the club is betting on creativity and goal-scoring from its imports, while the defense remains reliant on retained domestic pillars: goalkeeper Nguyen Thanh Diep, Vu Tuyen Quang, Van Thang, Xuan Hung, Tuan Hai, Tuan Canh, Duc Hoang. This is a calculated choice: the team survived through defensive solidity, and keeping the defensive core intact signals they do not want to break the foundation that kept them up. The most notable aspect of Thanh Hoa's personnel strategy is using the overseas Vietnamese slot for a Laos international – Damoth Thongkhamsavath. This is a smart regulatory move: the V-League allows clubs to register players of Vietnamese heritage in a separate category, not counting toward the foreign player quota. Using this slot for a player representing Laos shows the club's recruitment department understands the legal framework well and knows how to optimize limited resources. This is not a flashy signing but a pragmatic decision – filling a needed position at a reasonable cost. However, the real story of Thanh Hoa is not in the registration list. It lies in the question: does squad expansion mean quality improvement? Last season, with 18 players, coach Mai Xuan Hop had almost no rotation options. He had to use a fixed lineup, dependent on fitness and luck in avoiding injuries. The tactics were primarily defensive, conceding possession to wait for counter-attacking opportunities. The result was 11th place – a performance far exceeding expectations given the crisis context. This season, everything is different. With 30+ players, Thanh Hoa has the squad depth to play more proactive football. But this creates a paradox: a team that succeeded through disciplined defense may now be tempted to play more open football, and this transition period carries risks. Teams that change philosophy often go through a crisis phase before achieving stability. For Thanh Hoa, this phase could arrive in the opening rounds. The opening match against SHB Da Nang at home on September 6 is a crucial test. SHB Da Nang is a familiar mid-table V-League side – not too strong but not easy to beat either. A victory would consolidate confidence and build momentum for the season. Conversely, a loss or draw could trigger the first criticisms aimed at the new leadership and foreign players. In Vietnamese football, foreign players are judged quickly – just a few poor performances and they can be labeled 'low quality'. What troubles me most when observing the departure ceremony is not the player list or tactics, but the financial story behind it. In the 2026/26 season, Thanh Hoa faced serious financial difficulties, forcing the squad to shrink to 18. The arrival of Mr. Le Xuan Tuong is a positive signal – the squad expansion to 30+ players proves new capital has been injected. But the biggest question remains unanswered: is T-Group's commitment long-term, or just a short-term branding campaign? Vietnamese football has seen too many cases of businessmen arriving, investing for one season, then withdrawing when results disappoint. If T-Group withdraws after this season, Thanh Hoa could face an even worse crisis than 2026/26. A 30-man squad means a significantly increased wage bill – at least 12 new contracts, plus foreign player wages typically 3–5 times higher than domestic players. If revenue does not match, the financial burden will weigh heavily on the club. Another notable point is the recruitment strategy of foreign players from value markets: Uzbekistan and West Africa. These are markets where player wages are typically lower than Brazilian or European equivalents. This suggests Thanh Hoa is seeking value in less competitive talent markets – a common strategy for financially constrained V-League clubs. But it also carries risks: scouting quality in these markets is uneven, and if foreign players fail to integrate, the club has very little financial room to correct course in the mid-season transfer window. Thanh Hoa's story this season is not just about a team wanting to improve its standing. It is a story about sustainability – can a club that nearly collapsed financially stand on its own feet when given fresh capital? Can the optimism of departure day be maintained when real difficulties begin to surface? I remember the 2026 season when I followed Chengdu Blades through their relegation campaign. That team also had a hopeful summer with a new squad, but then cracks began to appear from within – not from defeats, but from silent meals in the team canteen. A collective falls apart not from a loss, but from silent meals. The question for Thanh Hoa now is: can 30 new players become a real team, or just a collection of strangers? Coach Mai Xuan Hop has publicly declared determination to achieve 'highest results' in both the V-League and National Cup. This is an ambitious public commitment, but also a double-edged sword. If the team only finishes mid-table, these promises will come back to haunt the leadership. In Vietnamese football, strong statements on departure day are often more ceremonial than realistic targets. But once the public and media have heard them, they will remember. Realistically, a reasonable target for Thanh Hoa this season is a top-8 finish – a safe position that could be considered a success given the context. The title race with Hanoi FC or Cong An Ha Noi is out of reach, at least at this point. The gap in squad quality and financial power remains significant. But football does not always operate on financial logic. The passion of the Thanh Hoa stands, one of the most intimidating in the V-League, can make a difference of 3 to 5 points over a season. The opening match against SHB Da Nang at home therefore carries strategic significance. A win would create a positive psychological effect, giving the team more confidence in the new playing style. Conversely, a poor result could allow doubts to take root. In football, belief is the most valuable intangible asset. And belief does not come from promises made on departure day, but from what happens on the pitch. The training ground does not lie; we just lack the patience to listen. In the first training sessions of the new season, I saw a different Thanh Hoa – more complete, more vibrant, but also more uncertain. The new players have not fully integrated, the passes are not yet perfectly coordinated. This is normal, but time waits for no one. The V-League has no concept of an 'easy match', and every team pays for delays in the integration process. Thanh Hoa's 2026/27 story will not be decided by what they said on departure day, but by how they react when facing adversity. Will they remain calm when a bad run occurs? Will the new leadership have enough patience to wait for the team to find its rhythm? Will young players be given opportunities to develop, or will they be abandoned when performance pressure rises? Relegation seasons teach us to hear the heartbeat of a team from within. And Thanh Hoa's heartbeat right now is faster, stronger than a year ago. But a fast heartbeat does not mean a healthy heart. Sometimes, a fast heartbeat is a sign of stress, of pressure weighing on the chest. I will follow Thanh Hoa throughout this season, not just through TV screens but through training sessions, sideline conversations, moments of silence in the dressing room. Because real stars do not appear from screens, but from the eyes of those sitting in the secondary stands. And the real stories of football are not in the scoreline, but in the silences between two plays. Thanh Hoa has chosen its path: expansion, investment, ambition. Now, all that remains is to wait and see whether that path leads where they want to go, or just a circle bringing them back to the starting point. Football never forgives complacency, but it always gives opportunities to those who dare to try. And Thanh Hoa, with 30 players and a new chairman, holds an opportunity they have not had in many years. The final question, and the most important one: will they be wise enough to use that opportunity correctly?