Ho Chi Minh City Football Club (HCMC FC, Vietnamese: Câu lạc bộ bóng đá Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh), simply known as TP Hồ Chí Minh, and commonly known as TPHCM, is a professional football club based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The club competes in the V.League 1, the highest level of Vietnamese football, since the 2017 season after winning the Vietnam's 2016 V.League 2 league in the 2016 season. The club was formerly known as Cảng Sài Gòn (Saigon Port) between 1975 and 2009.[2]The club's home ground is the Thống Nhất Stadium.

Ho Chi Minh City FC
Full nameHo Chi Minh City Football Club
Nickname(s)Chiến hạm đỏ (The Red Battleship)
Short nameHCMFC
Founded1975; 49 years ago (1975) (as Cảng Sài Gòn)
GroundThống Nhất Stadium
Capacity15,000[1]
OwnerHo Chi Minh City Football JSC
ChairmanVacant
ManagerPhùng Thanh Phương (interim)
LeagueV.League 1
2023V.League 1, 13th of 14
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History edit

The Saigon Port Football Club and the Saigon Port Corporation are the two predecessors of the Ho Chi Minh City Football Club. The Saigon Port Company, formerly known as the Saigon Port Football Club, was formally created on November 1, 1975.[3][4]

The Saigon Port Corporation's officials claimed at the end of 2008 that they no longer had the means to support the football squad. Due to the fact that they only had one primary sponsor, the Vietnam Steel Company, the club's leadership decided to alter the team's name in order to operate on a professional model. The name Ho Chi Minh City Football Club was adopted with the permission of the club's management unit, the Ho Chi Minh City Football Company Ltd, and the Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation, with a 15 billion Vietnamese dong investment for the team.

Because of their devotion to the heritage connected with the name Saigon Port, the club's supporters have expressed disappointment and resistance to the decision to alter the name. Yet, the club's objective was to become a major football club in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as to promote the acquisition of government and commercial aid. The club officially changed its name to Ho Chi Minh City Football Club on January 22, 2009, with the Vietnam Steel Corporation serving as the team's primary sponsor.

The supporters were vehemently opposed to the name change. The whole Fans Association Executive Committee resigned, and the Saigon Port Football Supporters Association dissolved, generating problems for the team in its first season under the new name. They were relegated to Vietnamese Football League Second Division after finishing at the 13th place in the 2009 season. In 2012, the club finished last in the Vietnamese First League. After only one season at the Vietnamese Second League, Ho Chi Minh returned to the First League in 2015. With the ambition to return to top fight, Ho Chi Minh City received big investments and successfully gained a promotion to the V.League 1 after winning the 2016 V.League 2.[5]

Following returning to the V.League 1 in 2017, the team focused more on drawing spectators to the stadium by listening to supporters' criticism and renovating the stadium, stands, and so on. As a consequence, the club's reputation among supporters progressively improved. After that, the Ho Chi Minh City Football Club Fans Association was formed. The squad finished 12th in the league standings in 2017.

Before the 2021 season, the club's management made changes to the team's personnel with the goal of winning the V.League 2021 championship. Alexandré Pölking, the former coach of Bangkok United, was recruited by the management with a 1-year contract and a salary of 30,000 USD/month.[6][7][8] In December 2020, Ho Chi Minh City Club successfully recruited Vietnamese-American midfielder Lee Nguyen with a 1-year contract.[9][10][11] In round 5 of phase 1 of 2021 V.League 1, the club lost 0-3 to Hanoi in a match in which Ngo Hoang Thinh received a very heavy penalty from the VFF after a collision that broke Do Hung Dung's leg.[12][13][14]

Players edit

First-team squad edit

As of 18 March 2024[15]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF   VIE Ngô Tùng Quốc
3 DF   VIE Nguyễn Thanh Thảo
4 DF   VIE Lê Cao Hoài An
5 DF   VIE Nguyễn Minh Tùng
6 MF   VIE Võ Huy Toàn
8 FW   VIE Nguyễn Vũ Tín
9 FW   VIE Hồ Tuấn Tài
10 FW   CIV Cheick Timité
11 MF   VIE Lâm Thuận
14 MF   USA Lê Trung Vinh
15 DF   VIE Uông Ngọc Tiến
16 MF   VIE Nguyễn Thanh Khôi
17 MF   VIE Nguyễn Minh Trung
19 FW   VIE Nguyễn Ngọc Hậu
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF   VIE Chu Văn Kiên
21 MF   VIE Đào Quốc Gia
22 DF   VIE Võ Hữu Việt Hoàng
23 MF   VIE Hoàng Vĩnh Nguyên
25 GK   VIE Phạm Hữu Nghĩa
27 MF   VIE Phan Nhật Thanh Long
28 DF   VIE Trần Hoàng Phúc
29 MF   VIE Nguyễn Hạ Long
38 GK   VIE Đặng Ngọc Tuấn
43 DF   BRA Brendon Lucas
77 DF   VIE Sầm Ngọc Đức (on loan from Hanoi Police)
89 GK   SVK Patrik Le Giang (on loan from Hanoi Police)
90 FW   COL Santiago Patiño

Out on loan edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW   VIE Bùi Ngọc Long (at   Hanoi Police until 7 July 2024)

Reserves and academy edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2   VIE Nguyễn Thế Dũng
3   VIE Nguyễn Hữu Trường
4   VIE Phạm Quốc Tuấn
6   VIE Nguyễn Thanh Tú
7   VIE Thạch Tùng
8   VIE Nguyễn Văn Đạt
9   VIE Tô Phương Thịnh
10   VIE Dương Vĩnh Khang
11   VIE Nguyễn Văn Mạnh
12   VIE Huỳnh Công Hậu
14   VIE Phạm Minh Phát
15   VIE Lê Hoàng Trường
16   VIE Nguyễn Ngọc Hậu
17   VIE Nguyễn Trung Kiên
No. Pos. Nation Player
18   VIE Chu Minh Hoàng
19   VIE Nguyễn Huỳnh Thịnh
20   VIE Lê Cảnh Gia Huy
21   VIE Nguyễn Trung Hiếu
22   VIE Trần Minh Thảo
23   VIE Trần Thành Nhân
24   VIE Bùi Văn Bình
25   VIE Nguyễn Trung Nhân
26   VIE Vũ Minh Tâm
27   VIE Trần Minh Chiến
28   VIE Nguyễn Huỳnh Minh Duy
29   VIE Hứa Hoàng Xuân Khoa
30   VIE Trần Đăng Khoa
33   VIE Đặng Nguyễn Phương Đức

Affiliated clubs edit

Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore Premier League club, Geylang International has hinged a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that aims to further the growth of football through the open sharing of technical expertise and knowledge between both clubs. Under this MOU, cooperative efforts between both clubs will be boosted in four key sectors; training, attachments, player transfers, and fan club support. It will also allow the two clubs to send their youth and senior squad to train or participate in short-term tournaments within each other’s regions. The agreement will also ensure the priority of players’ transfer for both clubs as well as facilitate the exchange of players and technical staff for training attachments. Additionally, both parties will strive to increase each other’s club profile in their own regions and encourage cultural exchanges and interactions between their fan clubs. This includes providing support, privileges, and on-site concierge services for official club tours, visits, or match attendances requested by each other’s fan clubs through their respective clubs.

Honours edit

National competitions edit

League
Cup

Other competitions edit

  • BTV Cup:
    • Winners: 2000
    • Runners-up: 2001

Season-by-season records edit

Season Pld Won Draw Lost GF GA GD PTS Final position Notes
2000–01 V-League 18 7 6 5 29 21 +8 27 4th
2001–02 V-League 18 9 5 4 20 16 +4 32 Champions Qualified for the 2002–03 AFC Champions League qualification Round 3
2003 V-League 22 4 7 11 26 41 −15 19 11th Relegated to V.League 2
2004 V.League 2 22 15 5 2 51 18 +33 50 Champions Promoted to V.League 1
2005 V-League 22 6 9 7 25 29 −4 27 8th
2006 V-League 24 7 8 9 35 38 −3 29 10th
2007 V-League 26 8 10 8 41 40 +1 34 8th
2008 V-League 26 11 6 9 34 34 0 39 5th
2009 V-League 26 8 5 13 34 44 −10 29 13th Relegated to V.League 2
2010 V-League 2 24 7 6 11 28 42 −14 27 10th
2011 V.League 2 26 6 10 10 29 36 −7 28 11th
2012 V-League 2 26 5 8 13 36 54 −18 23 14th Relegated to Vietnam National 2nd Division
2013 Vietnam National 2nd Division 10 5 1 4 13 10 +3 16 2nd (Group C) Promoted through play-offs
2014 V.League 2 14 3 4 7 11 19 −8 13 7th
2015 V.League 2 14 7 3 4 19 13 +6 24 3rd
2016 V.League 2 18 12 3 3 38 15 +23 39 Champions Promoted to V.League 1
2017 V.League 1 26 6 7 13 29 46 −17 25 12th
2018 V.League 1 26 7 6 13 36 44 −8 27 12th
2019 V.League 1 26 14 6 6 41 29 +12 48 2nd Qualified for the 2020 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs[a]
2020 V.League 1 20 8 4 8 29 25 +4 28 5th
2021 V.League 1 12 4 2 6 14 17 –3 14 11th League was cancelled due to Covid-19
2022 V.League 1 24 6 7 11 23 34 -11 25 9th
2023 V.League 1 18 4 3 11 21 32 11 15 13th
  1. ^ As Hanoi FC failed to obtain an AFC license, Ho Chi Minh City FC qualified for the 2020 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs.

Continental record edit

All results list Ho Chi Minh City's goal tally first.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1993–94 Asian Cup Winner' Cup First round   Sarawak FA w/o[a]
Second round   Semen Padang
0–1
1–1
1–2
1995–96 Asian Club Championship First round   Pahang FA w/o[b]
1998–99 Asian Club Championship First round   Pohang Steelers
0–2
0–4
0–6
2000–01 Asian Cup Winners' Cup First round   Singapore Armed Forces
0–0
2–0
2–0
Second round   Shimizu S-Pulse
0–2
0–4
0–6
2002–03 AFC Champions League Qualification   Churchill Brothers
0–2
1–0
1–2
2020 AFC Champions League Preliminary round 2   Buriram United
1–2
AFC Cup Group stage   Yangon United
2–2[c]
Cancelled 1st
(Cancelled)
  Hougang United 3–2[c] Cancelled
  Lao Toyota 2–0[c] Cancelled

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors edit

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2017–2018   Mizuno[17] Cityland
2019   Zaicro[18]
2020   Kappa[19]
2021–2023   Kelme[20] Cityland
Bamboo Airways
Viva Land
SCB
Phú Mỹ Hưng
Murata
2023   Jogarbola Mansion Sports
Phu Hung Life Insurance
Phu Hung Securities

Performance in AFC competitions edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Sarawak FA withdrew.
  2. ^ Cảng Sài Gòn withdrew.
  3. ^ a b c Away match.

References edit

  1. ^ "TP Hồ Chí Minh". vpf.vn (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Cảng Sài Gòn, đâu dễ lấy lại một cái tên". laodong.vn. 27 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  3. ^ "Thế hệ vàng của Cảng Sài Gòn". sggp.org.vn. 19 March 2011.
  4. ^ "Bóng đá Sài Gòn - TP.HCM một thời oanh liệt". thanhnien.vn. 30 April 2021.
  5. ^ "CLB TP Hồ Chí Minh xuất sắc nhận Cúp vô địch hạng Nhất Quốc gia 2016". Báo Tin Tức.
  6. ^ VCCorp.vn (2020-12-01). "CLB TP.HCM trả lương cao nhất V.League cho tân HLV từ Thái Lan". Sport5 (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  7. ^ ONLINE, TUOI TRE (2023-11-21). "CLB TP.HCM chia tay HLV Vũ Tiến Thành, tính phương án mời cựu danh thủ Thái Lan". TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  8. ^ "CLB TP.HCM nhắm HLV trưởng đội tuyển Thái Lan". TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  9. ^ "CHÍNH THỨC: CLB TP.HCM chiêu mộ thành công Lee Nguyễn". Thể thao 247 (in Vietnamese). 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  10. ^ Trí, Dân (2020-12-18). "Lee Nguyễn về V-League khoác áo CLB TPHCM". Báo điện tử Dân Trí (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  11. ^ "Lee Nguyễn chính thức gia nhập CLB TP Hồ Chí Minh". Báo Nhân Dân điện tử (in Vietnamese). 2020-12-25. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  12. ^ "CLB TP.HCM 1-3 CLB Hà Nội, V-League 2023: Nỗ lực bất thành của HLV Vũ Tiến Thành". thanhnien.vn (in Vietnamese). 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  13. ^ Ngoc Nu (2022-03-23). "Winvn". hcmcpv.org.vn. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  14. ^ "Nam Định - CLB TP Hồ Chí Minh: Tiếp đà chiến thắng". baotintuc.vn (in Vietnamese). 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  15. ^ "TP Hồ Chí Minh". Archived from the original on 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  16. ^ "Vietnam — List of Champions". Archived from the original on 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  17. ^ "CLB TP.Hồ Chí Minh: CLB TP.Hồ Chí Minh công bố áo đấu mới giai đoạn lượt về | VTV.VN". Archived from the original on 2023-06-04. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  18. ^ "Hãng thời trang Hàn Quốc tài trợ cho CLB TP HCM". 8 January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  19. ^ https://www.goal.com/vn/tintuc/clb-tphcm-lam-le-cong-bo-cac-doi-tac-chien-luoc-tu-mua-giai/3wfpz376n89q1w19cffvhloje Archived 2022-03-12 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL]
  20. ^ "Kelme Vietnam on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27.[user-generated source]

External links edit