Surely fans still remember the moment when HAGL's young star Nguyen Cong Phuong confidently soloed and then scored a goal against the Australian U.19 team in 2014, causing My Dinh Stadium to explode.

That is a typical image, representing what the Vietnam U.19 team in general and HAGL U.19 team in particular have done at a time when the country's football was declining after a series of scandals.

Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh, Van Toan… sow hope for a generation that will bring glory to Vietnamese football. HAGL is expected to create more "seeds" to contribute to the sustainable development of the country's football.

However, after the first generation of players, HAGL has not produced any high-class players. After the generation of Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh… the training center in the mountain town has not made many significant contributions to the Vietnam national team.

Meanwhile, generations of Hanoi Club still contribute regularly to the Vietnam national team, from Nguyen Van Quyet, Do Hung Dung, Do Duy Manh, Nguyen Thanh Chung, Nguyen Quang Hai to "rising stars" Nguyen Van Tung and Nguyen Van Truong.

Similarly, Viettel The Cong Club is also having a succession, from Bui Tien Dung, Nguyen Hoang Duc, Nguyen Duc Chien and now Nguyen Thanh Binh, Khuat Van Khang. That is the clearest evidence of stability in youth training and also shows the difference in training quality of the clubs.

Hanoi FC and Viettel The Cong have something in common in youth training. Young players compete regularly and achieve good results in the national youth tournament system. After that, outstanding players are further trained in the first team and gradually mature under the guidance of their seniors.

The dramatic victory on penalties helped the U.21 LPBank HAGL team win the 2024 National U.21 Championship. VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan sent a letter of congratulations to the team for their outstanding achievements.

In the letter, Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan affirmed that the team's excellent achievements at the national U.21 tournament were a worthy result of the efforts, determination and solidarity of all members.

The U.21 LPBank HAGL team has demonstrated its outstanding ability and strong will, bringing pride not only to the team but also to all Gia Lai fans.

HAGL is taking similar steps when in the last 2, 3 seasons using more young players. Notably, Nguyen Duc Viet, Nguyen Quoc Viet or Tran Trung Kien… are all being tested in V-League.

Thanks to that, they are brave enough to lead U.21 LPBank HAGL to win the 2024 National U.21 Championship. These three players also won individual titles of the tournament including: Best Player of the Tournament, Top Scorer and Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

These players were then also called up by coach Kim Sang-sik to the Vietnam U.22 team, preparing for the 2026 U.23 Asian qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games.

Looking more broadly, HAGL youth football also had relatively good results in 2024 when winning the national U.17 bronze medal and the national U.19 silver medal. The HAGL U.15 team itself is also competing favorably in the national U.15 tournament.

Some potential young players such as Dinh Quang Kiet and Hoang Minh Tien have gained more experience playing at Kon Tum Club and are now familiar faces in the U.17 and U.19 Vietnam youth teams.

At this time, HAGL also focuses on using young players in the V-League. After helping the mountain town team successfully stay in the league last season, coach Vu Tien Thanh affirmed that he does not need to recruit more domestic players for the mountain town team but will trust in "homegrown" products.

This is truly a great opportunity for young players to develop and improve themselves. If they go in the right direction, the new generation of players from LPBank HAGL can completely join the Vietnam national team, like what Tuan Anh, Van Toan, Van Thanh are doing.