CAND's Season Launch: The Giant's Game and the Unspoken Pressure

On September 11, the home ground of Cong An Nhan Dan (CAND) will welcome Long An in the opening match of the 2026-2027 National First Division. In the stands, there will not only be fans; there will also be the expectation of the Ministry of Public Security, transformed into an unwritten command: promotion, no exceptions. I have followed Vietnamese football for over two decades, and I can say that never has a First Division team entered a season with such immense political and sporting pressure. The context of this season is unlike any other. The transfer of PVF-CAND to become Hung Yen Club is not just an administrative restructuring. It is a deliberate subtraction: CAND removes its youth training system to focus its entire budget on the first team. Meanwhile, Hung Yen, with the backing of PVF, will become a separate developing entity. Both clubs share the same origin from the Ministry of Public Security, and both play in the same league. This is an unprecedented structure in Vietnam, and it raises questions about fair competition that the VFF will have to address. Head coach Nguyen Duc Thang, who won the 2026 V-League with Viettel thanks to the league's best defense, brings a clear tactical DNA: prioritizing solidity, discipline, and efficiency from set pieces. Numbers don't lie, but the people who read them can. Looking at CAND's squad, I see a team built to resolve matches at a slow pace, control the game, and maximize dead-ball situations. Goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu, with his V-League and national team experience, is a tactical anchor that few First Division teams possess. The presence of Le Viktor, a Vietnamese-Czech striker with European football exposure, alongside Minh Vuong and Thanh Nhan, provides attacking flexibility, allowing Duc Thang to shift between different formations depending on the match state. Financially, CAND operates on a 'state-backed competitive advantage' model. Unlike other First Division clubs that rely on local sponsorship, CAND has the financial muscle of the Ministry of Public Security. This is not only reflected in recruiting veterans like Trieu, but also in the facilities, medical staff, and logistics rarely seen at this level in Vietnamese football. However, this dependence on political budget is a double-edged sword. A muscle tear can collapse an entire transfer deal, and a failed season can shift the Ministry's priorities. A player's body is a diary that reveals old scars the more you read it, and the pressure from leadership expectations can become a psychological injury harder to heal than any muscle strain. The key point I want to emphasize, based on my experience watching matches, is that this expectation can create a paradox. While everyone considers CAND the number one candidate for promotion, the 'must-win' pressure itself could make the team play timidly in crucial matches. The opening match against Long An is not just a game; it is the first test of the team's psychological control. A win will create positive momentum, but a draw or loss will immediately raise questions about whether the team is 'overhyped.' The presence of two clubs with the same Ministry of Public Security origin in the same league also raises governance questions. Will the VFF require a 'cooling-off period' or governance separation between CAND and Hung Yen? In the context of Vietnamese football's development, having two 'state' clubs in the First Division could create competitive imbalance, turning the league into a one-horse race for CAND. This is an issue I believe the VFF needs to examine carefully, not only for fairness but also for the sustainable development of the entire league. Ultimately, the biggest question is not whether CAND will be promoted, but whether the 'state-managed football club' model is truly sustainable and beneficial for Vietnamese football's development. When a club is backed by a ministry, their success can be seen as the system's success, but failure will also be the system's failure. And in football, nothing lasts forever. Three years of recording every training session, so today I can say: that season was unlike any other. And I will watch to see if this 'giant' can stand on its own two feet, or will crumble under the weight of the very expectations it has created.