2021 V.League 1

The 2021 V.League 1 (known as the LS V.League 1 for sponsorship reasons) was the 38th season of the V.League 1, the highest division of Vietnamese football and the 21st as a professional league.^[1][2]

LS V.League 1 – 2021

Season	2021
Dates	15 January – 2 May 2021 (Remaining matches cancelled)
Champions	Not awarded
Relegated	None
Matches played	84
Goals scored	194 (2.31 per match)
Top goalscorer	Nguyen Van Toan Oussou Konan Rodrigo Dias (7 goals)
Biggest home win	Hanoi FC 4–0 Than Quang Ninh (11 April 2021)
Biggest away win	Ho Chi Minh City FC 0–3 Hanoi FC (23 March 2021) Viettel 0–3 Hoang Anh Gia Lai (24 March 2021) Saigon FC 0–3 Nam Dinh FC (28 March 2021)
Highest scoring	Hong Linh Ha Tinh 3–5 Dong A Thanh Hoa (3 April 2021)
Longest winning run	Hoang Anh Gia Lai (7 matches)
Longest unbeaten run	Hoang Anh Gia Lai (11 matches)
Longest winless run	Haiphong FC (6 matches)
Longest losing run	Saigon FC (5 matches)
Highest attendance	20,000 Topenland Binh Dinh 0–1 Viettel (11 April 2021)
Lowest attendance	1,500 Viettel 3–0 Saigon FC (3 April 2021)
Total attendance	465,600 (excluding matches played behind closed doors)
Average attendance	6,208
← 2020 2022 → All statistics correct as of complete.

The season was paused for a third time on 6 May 2021 due to an outbreak of the delta variant of the coronavirus in the country.^[3]

Despite attempts to re-start the season by late November,^[4] after a meeting with all teams on August 21, the season was officially cancelled, with no champion determined, and no teams to be relegated; the slots for the 2022 AFC Champions League and 2022 AFC Cup was awarded to Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Viettel respectively in November 26. After the cancellation of the league, LS Group ceased sponsorship due to issues, and Sâm Ngọc Linh Kon Tum was chosen as the main sponsor for the next season.

Competition format

The league was scheduled to operate in two stages, with the top six teams qualify for the championship group and remaining teams qualify for the relegation group after a single-round robin regular season. The season was cancelled with one matchday left until the completion of the regular season.

Teams

A total of 14 teams contested the league, including 13 teams from the 2020 season and Topenland Binh Dinh promoted from the 2020 V.League 2 season.^[5]

Stadiums and locations

Becamex Binh Duong

Nam Dinh FC

Hanoi

Haiphong FC

Hoang Anh Gia Lai

Hong Linh Ha Tinh

Topenland Binh Dinh

SHB Danang

Song Lam Nghe An

Than Quang Ninh

Dong A Thanh Hoa

Ho Chi Minh City

Hanoi teams
Hanoi FC
Viettel

Ho Chi Minh City teams
Ho Chi Minh City FC
Saigon FC

Locations of the 2021 V.League 1 teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity	Previous season rank
Topenland Binh Dinh	Binh Dinh	Quy Nhon	15,000	VL2 (1st)
Becamex Binh Duong	Binh Duong	Go Dau	13,035	VL1 (6th)
SHB Danang	Danang	Hoa Xuan	20,000	VL1 (9th)
Hoang Anh Gia Lai	Gia Lai	Pleiku	12,000	VL1 (7th)
Haiphong FC	Haiphong	Lach Tray	25,000	VL1 (12th)
Hanoi FC	Hanoi	Hang Day	22,500	VL1 (2nd)
Viettel				VL1 (1st)
Hong Linh Ha Tinh	Ha Tinh	Ha Tinh	20,000	VL1 (8th)
Ho Chi Minh City FC	Ho Chi Minh City	Thong Nhat	16,000	VL1 (5th)
Saigon FC				VL1 (3rd)
Nam Dinh FC	Nam Dinh	Thien Truong	30,000	VL1 (13th)
Song Lam Nghe An	Nghe An	Vinh	18,000	VL1 (10th)
Than Quang Ninh	Quang Ninh	Cam Pha	20,000	VL1 (4th)
Dong A Thanh Hoa	Thanh Hoa	Thanh Hoa	12,000	VL1 (11th)

Personnel and kits

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

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer
TopenLand Binh Dinh	Nguyễn Đức Thắng	Bùi Văn Hiếu	Kamito
Becamex Binh Duong	Nguyễn Thanh Sơn (caretaker)	Pape Omar Faye	Kamito
SHB Da Nang	Phan Thanh Hùng	Đặng Anh Tuấn	Kamito
Hoang Anh Gia Lai	Kiatisuk Senamuang	Lương Xuân Trường	Mizuno
Haiphong FC	Phạm Anh Tuấn	Andre Fagan	Jogarbola
Hanoi FC	Park Choong-kyun	Nguyễn Văn Quyết	Jogarbola
Viettel	Trương Việt Hoàng	Bùi Tiến Dũng	FBT
Hong Linh Ha Tinh	Nguyễn Thành Công	Trần Phi Sơn	Kelme
Ho Chi Minh City FC	Alexandré Pölking	Sầm Ngọc Đức	Kelme
Saigon FC	Phùng Thanh Phương	Daisuke Matsui	Made by club
Nam Dinh FC	Nguyễn Văn Sỹ	Lâm Anh Quang	Kelme
Song Lam Nghe An	Nguyễn Huy Hoàng (caretaker)	Hoàng Văn Khánh	Mitre
Than Quang Ninh	Hoàng Thọ	Phạm Nguyên Sa	Joma
Dong A Thanh Hoa	Ljupko Petrović	Hoàng Đình Tùng	Jogarbola

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Hoang Anh Gia Lai	Duong Minh Ninh Nguyen Van Dan	Mutual consent	November 2020	Pre-season	Kiatisuk Senamuang[6]	November 2020
Ho Chi Minh City FC	Jung Hae-seong	Resigned	12 November 2020		Alexandré Pölking	2 December 2020
Dong A Thanh Hoa	Mai Xuân Hợp	Mutual consent	26 November 2020		Ljupko Petrović	26 November 2020
Nam Dinh FC	Pham Hong Phu	Mutual consent	14 December 2020		Nguyen Van Sy	14 December 2020
Than Quang Ninh	Phan Thanh Hùng	Resigned	16 December 2020		Hoang Tho	16 December 2020
Becamex Binh Duong	Nguyen Thanh Son	Mutual consent	19 December 2020		Phan Thanh Hùng	23 December 2020
Saigon FC	Vu Tien Thanh[7]	Mutual consent	24 February 2021	4th	Masahiro Shimoda[7]	25 February 2021
Saigon FC	Masahiro Shimoda[8]	Sacked	30 March 2021	11th	Phung Thanh Phuong[8]	30 March 2021
Hanoi FC	Chu Dinh Nghiem[9]	Resigned	3 April 2021	7th	Hoang Van Phuc (caretaker)[10]	3 April 2021
Hong Linh Ha Tinh	Pham Minh Duc	Resigned	12 April 2021	14th	Nguyen Thanh Cong	14 April 2021
Becamex Binh Duong	Phan Thanh Hung	Resigned	14 April 2021	6th	Nguyen Thanh Son (caretaker)	14 April 2021
Hanoi FC	Hoang Van Phuc (caretaker)	End of caretaker spell	20 April 2021	8th	Park Choong-kyun[11]	20 April 2021
Song Lam Nghe An	Ngo Quang Truong[12]	Resigned	30 April 2021	14th	Nguyen Huy Hoang (caretaker)	30 April 2021
SHB Danang	Le Huynh Duc[13]	Resigned	3 May 2021	9th	Phan Thanh Hung[14]	3 May 2021

Foreign players

Players name in bold indicates the player was registered after the start of the season.

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4 (AFC Player)	Player 5 (Naturalized Vietnamese player)	Former Player
Topenland Binh Dinh	Hendrio	Rimario Gordon	Ahn Byung-keon		→ Tony Le1
Becamex Binh Duong	Ali Rabo	Pape Omar Faye	Victor Mansaray
SHB Danang	Janclesio	Rafaelson	Hedipo			Hedipo Papa Ibou Kébé Claudecir
Hoang Anh Gia Lai	Washington Brandão	Kim Dong-su	Damir Memović		→ Suleiman Abdullahi → Steven Dang1
Haiphong FC	Andre Fagan	Jermie Lynch	Joseph Mpande		→ Adriano Schmidt1 → Andrey Nguyen 1 → Martin Lo1	Diego Silva
Hanoi FC	Bruno Cantanhede	Geovane Magno	Moses Oloya
Viettel	Bruno Matos	Caíque	Pedro Paulo	Jahongir Abdumuminov		Luizão
Hong Linh Ha Tinh	Chevaughn Walsh	Ismahil Akinade	Kelly Kester			Claudecir
Ho Chi Minh City FC	Brendon Lucas	Patrick Leonardo	João Paulo		→ Lee Nguyen1	Papé Diakité Dário Junior Junior Barros
Saigon FC	Thiago Melo	Papa Ibou Kébé	Papé Diakité	Daisuke Matsui	→ Gastón Merlo	Hiroyuki Takasaki Woo Sang-ho
Nam Dinh FC	Rodrigo Dias	Wesley dos Santos	Oussou Konan			Gramoz Kurtaj
Song Lam Nghe An	Felipe Martins	Peter Samuel Onyekachi				Igor Jelić Bruno Henrique
Than Quang Ninh	Diogo Pereira	Eydison	Gustavo		→ Geoffrey Kizito	Patrick Leonardo
Dong A Thanh Hoa	Zé Paulo	Louis Ewonde	Gramoz Kurtaj		→ Samson Kayode	Chevaughn Walsh

• ^1 Naturalized players whose parents or grandparents were born in Vietnam, thus are regarded as local players.

First phase

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hoang Anh Gia Lai	12	9	2	1	23	9	+14	29	Qualification for AFC Champions League Group stage[a]
2	Viettel	12	8	2	2	16	9	+7	26	Qualification for AFC Cup Group stage[a]
3	Than Quang Ninh	12	6	1	5	12	11	+1	19	Withdrawn after the season's abandonment.[b]
4	Nam Dinh FC	12	6	0	6	23	21	+2	18
5	Dong A Thanh Hoa	12	5	2	5	18	15	+3	17
6	Becamex Binh Duong	12	5	2	5	14	17	−3	17
7	Hanoi FC	12	5	1	6	17	14	+3	16
8	Topenland Binh Dinh	12	4	4	4	10	9	+1	16
9	SHB Danang	12	5	1	6	11	11	0	16
10	Hong Linh Ha Tinh	12	4	3	5	16	17	−1	15
11	Ho Chi Minh City FC	12	4	2	6	14	17	−3	14
12	Haiphong FC	12	4	2	6	7	15	−8	14
13	Saigon FC	12	4	1	7	6	14	−8	13
14	Song Lam Nghe An	12	3	1	8	7	15	−8	10

Source: VPF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Disciplinary points; 5) Play-off; 6) Drawing of lots
Notes:

1. After the abandonment of the season due to effects from COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, it was decided that the league's first placed team would take the AFC Champions League slot,^[15] with the AFC Cup slots to go to the second and third placed teams.^[16]
2. omitted from V-League competitions for 2022, after loss of their main sponsor and other financial difficulties.^[17]

Positions by round

This table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches.

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Becamex Binh Duong	3	2	6	10	6	6	8	5	6	5	6	6
Dong A Thanh Hoa	12	12	7	11	13	14	10	8	9	7	8	5
Haiphong FC	5	1	5	2	5	8	9	11	12	10	9	12
Hanoi FC	14	14	12	9	3	4	7	9	5	8	10	7
Hoang Anh Gia Lai	11	8	3	4	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Ho Chi Minh City FC	10	6	11	7	12	12	13	10	11	12	13	11
Hong Linh Ha Tinh	9	13	14	14	14	13	14	13	14	14	12	10
Nam Dinh FC	1	5	10	13	10	7	5	6	7	6	3	4
Saigon FC	6	9	4	8	11	11	12	14	13	13	11	13
SHB Danang	4	3	1	1	4	3	3	4	4	4	5	9
Song Lam Nghe An	8	10	13	12	7	10	11	12	10	11	14	14
Than Quang Ninh	2	7	2	6	2	2	2	2	3	3	4	3
Topenland Binh Dinh	7	4	9	5	8	9	6	7	8	9	7	8
Viettel	13	11	8	3	9	5	4	3	2	2	2	2

Source: Table by round (in Vietnamese)

Results

Home \ Away	BBD	DTH	HAI	HAN	HOA	HCM	HHT	NDI	SGN	SDN	SNA	TQN	TBD	VFC
Becamex Binh Duong		1–0	0–1			—[a]		4–3	1–0	1–0
Dong A Thanh Hoa			3–0		1–2[b]	1–1		3–0[c]		1–3	1–0			1–1
Haiphong FC				0–2	0–2			3–2		0–0	2–0	0–2	—[a]
Hanoi FC	1–2	3–2					1–1		3–1			4–0	0–1	0–1
Hoang Anh Gia Lai	2–2			1–0		3–0		4–3			2–1		2–1
Ho Chi Minh City FC			3–0	0–3			2–0		1–0		3–0		1–3	1–1
Hong Linh Ha Tinh	4–2[b]	3–5	1–0		0–0			3–2				1–2	1–1
Nam Dinh FC				3–0		3–2				—[a]	1–0		1–0	1–2
Saigon FC		—[a]	0–0		1–0		1–0	0–3			1–0[c]
SHB Danang				2–0	0–2	1–0	1–0		1–2		1–2			1–2
Song Lam Nghe An	2–0			—[a]			0–2					1–0	1–1	0–1
Than Quang Ninh	1–0	2–0			—[a]	2–0		0–1	1–0	0–1
Topenland Binh Dinh	0–0	0–1							1–0	1–0		1–1		0–1
Viettel	3–1		0–1		0–3		—[a]		3–0			2–1

Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 2021. Source: Vietnam Professional Football
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:

1. Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2. Played behind closed doors due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City and Bac Giang province.
3. Played behind closed doors due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the Hai Duong and Quang Ninh provinces.^[18]

Season progress

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Becamex Binh Duong	W	W	L	L	W	D	L	W	L	W	L	D
Dong A Thanh Hoa	L	D	W	L	L	L	W	W	D	W	L	W
Haiphong	W	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	D	D	W	L
Hanoi FC	L	L	W	W	W	D	L	L	W	L	L	W
Hoang Anh Gia Lai	L	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D
Ho Chi Minh City	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	W	D	L	D	W
Hong Linh Ha Tinh	L	L	L	D	W	D	L	D	L	W	W	W
Nam Dinh	W	L	L	L	W	W	W	L	L	W	W	L
Saigon	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	L	W	D	W	L
SHB Da Nang	W	W	W	L	L	W	W	L	D	L	L	L
Song Lam Nghe An	D	L	L	W	W	L	L	L	W	L	L	L
Than Quang Ninh	W	L	W	L	W	W	W	W	L	L	L	D
Topenland Binh Dinh	D	W	L	W	L	D	W	D	L	L	W	D
Viettel	L	D	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	D	W

Source: VPF
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose

Season statistics

As of end of season

Scoring

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Nguyễn Văn Toàn	Hoang Anh Gia Lai	7
	Oussou Konan	Nam Dinh
	Rodrigo Dias
4	Eydison	Than Quang Ninh	6
	Geovane	Hanoi
	Nguyễn Công Phượng	Hoang Anh Gia Lai
	Nguyễn Tiến Linh	Becamex Binh Duong
	Rafaelson	SHB Da Nang
9	Lee Nguyen	Ho Chi Minh City	5
	Phan Văn Đức	Song Lam Nghe An

Source: Soccerway

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Rafaelson	SHB Da Nang	Dong A Thanh Hoa	3–1 (A)	29 March 2021
Nguyễn Tiến Linh	Becamex Binh Duong	Nam Dinh	4–3 (H)	8 April 2021

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Huỳnh Tuấn Linh	Hoang Anh Gia Lai	6
2	Nguyễn Hoài Anh	Than Quang Ninh	5
	Nguyễn Thanh Diệp	Dong A Thanh Hoa
	Trần Nguyên Mạnh	Viettel
5	Đinh Xuân Việt	Nam Dinh	4
	Phạm Văn Phong	Saigon
	Nguyễn Tuấn Mạnh	SHB Danang
	Trần Đình Minh Hòang	Topenland Binh Dinh
	Trần Đức Cường	Becamex Binh Duong
10	4 players		3

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month		Goal of the Month
	Manager	Club	Player	Club	Player	Club
January/March	Kiatisuk Senamuang	Hoang Anh Gia Lai	Nguyễn Văn Tòan	Hoang Anh Gia Lai	Phan Văn Đức	Song Lam Nghe An
April					Lương Xuân Trường	Hoang Anh Gia Lai