Center back Ly Duc joins CAHN Club: New chapter for the Southeast Asian U.23 champion

CAHN Club announces contract with Pham Ly Duc

Right after returning from the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament, center-back Pham Ly Duc had a new destination. The player born in 2003 officially said goodbye to HAGL to join the Hanoi Police Club (CAHN Club). Ly Duc is a young contract, promising to bring competitiveness to the defense of the 2023 V-League champion.

Ly Duc is an interesting discovery of Vietnamese football. He was promoted to V-League last season after shining in the U.21 HAGL shirt (national U.21 champion). Here, Ly Duc had 22 appearances (only missed 4 matches due to injury), scored 3 goals, and contributed to HAGL's successful relegation.

PHOTO: CAHN CLUB

His fierce and determined defensive style and goal-scoring ability helped Ly Duc catch the eye of coach Kim Sang-sik. He was promoted to the national team during the training sessions in March and June. In the match against Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, Ly Duc was given the opportunity to play in the second half.

Ly Duc started all 4 matches of U.23 Vietnam in the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian Championship, scoring 1 goal. Sharing with Thanh Nien Newspaper, Coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed that Ly Duc is one of the most potential seeds. The former HAGL midfielder played solidly and steadily in defense, helping U.23 Vietnam concede only 2 goals after 4 matches and complete the hat-trick of winning the U.23 Southeast Asian Championship.

Defense in depth

With the contract named Ly Duc, CAHN Club has a defense with many members of the Vietnamese national team, such as goalkeeper Nguyen Filip, center back Bui Hoang Viet Anh, full back Cao Pendant Quang Vinh, not to mention former player Tran Dinh Trong.

Also in defense, CAHN Club has successfully recruited Adou Minh, a Vietnamese-French central defender who played well at Ha Tinh Club and was included in the V-League's best squad last season. In addition, Coach Alexandre Polking also has the service of Brandon Ly, a Vietnamese-French defender who played for U.21 Burnley (England).

The new recruits at the beginning of the transfer season of CAHN Club also named Janclesion, a central defender who used to play for Becamex TP.HCM Club, along with Tran Dinh Tien (transferred from Ha Tinh Club). Combined with existing stars such as Viet Anh, Quang Vinh, Vu Van Thanh, Hugo Gomes, CAHN Club owns a very competitive defense line.

Having to compete in 4 tournaments this season including V-League, National Cup, ASEAN Club Championship and AFC Champions League 2, CAHN Club is investing in depth in all three lines. In addition to recruiting new players, CAHN Club has extended contracts with some key players such as Nguyen Filip, Van Thanh and Quang Vinh.