Hanoi: It will be a clash of the titans when Vietnam’s Công An Hà Nội FC take on Thailand’s Buriram United in the first leg of the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ final at Hang Day Stadium on Wednesday.
It is also a repeat fixture of their opening game in Group B, when goals from Phan Van Duc and Alan Grafite helped CAHN emerge 2-1 winners, setting the tone for them to finish top of the group.
The stakes are much higher this time and Alexandre Polking, who is familiar with several Buriram players having led Thailand to the 2020 and 2022 ASEAN Championship titles, will now hope that his CAHN side can take a healthy advantage before making the trip to Thailand next week.
CAHN overturned a 1-0 deficit against Indonesia’s PSM Makassar in the semi-finals, with Hugo Gomes and Bui Hoang Viet Anh on the scoresheet as they won the second leg 2-0 at home to progress to the final.
Since that Shopee Cup semi-final, CAHN have been in domestic V.League 1 action, beating Quang Nam 3-0 followed by a 0-0 draw with Hong Linh Ha Tinh. They currently sit fifth in the league standings.
Polking will also welcome the return of Leo Artur, who has four goals and four assists in the Shopee Cup so far, with the Brazilian forward recovering from an ankle injury to feature for the first time since early March in their most recent league outing.
Buriram, meanwhile, did the damage in the first leg of their semi-finals when they defeated domestic rivals BG Pathum United 3-1 at home thanks to strikes from Supachai Chaided, Pansa Hemviboon and Guilherme Bissoli.
Osmar Loss’ side then played out a goalless stalemate in the return leg to comfortably reach the Shopee Cup final. They then squared off against the Rabbits again three days later — this time winning 3-0 to cruise through to the Thai FA Cup final.
That means Buriram’s quadruple dreams are still well and truly alive having clinched their 10th Thai League 1 title last month while they are also still in the running for the Thai League Cup, in addition to the Thai FA Cup and the Shopee Cup.
A fierce final is now on the cards with several players from both sides such as Theerathon Bunmathan, Nguyen Quang Hai, Pansa and Vu Van Thanh having also squared off in national team colours in the ASEAN Championship finals as they now set their eyes on club supremacy this time.
Công An Hà Nội FC vs Buriram United
Venue: Hang Day Stadium, Hanoi
Kick-off: 14 May, 7:30 PM (Local Time)
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