In round 26 on 22/6, Tien Linh scored the only goal, leading Binh Duong to a 1-0 victory over Thanh Hoa. Meanwhile, Cong An Ha Noi's striker Alan and Hai Phong's center-forward Lucao were both scoreless as the Hanoi-based team won 2-0 against their port city rivals.

Tien Linh and Lucao each had three assists, while Alan had 4. However, CAHN's striker achieved this feat in 18 matches, compared to his two rivals' 25.

Nguyen Tien Linh (left) celebrates his goal for Binh Duong against Thanh Hoa in the 26th round of V-League 2024-2025, at Binh Duong Stadium on 22/6/2025. Photo: VPF

Besides Tien Linh, Nguyen Xuan Son and Nguyen Van Quyet are the only other Vietnamese players in the top 10, each with 7 goals. Ranked above them are Joao Pedro (Ha Noi FC - 9 goals), Leonardo Artur (CAHN - 10), Charles Atshimene (Quang Nam - 11), Lucas Ribamar (Thanh Hoa - 12), and Pedro Henrique (The Cong - 13).

"The Golden Boot title is a great motivation for me for the future," Tien Linh said. "Binh Duong didn't play well at times, but the whole team worked hard to finish seventh in the V-League this season."

The V-League has concluded, but Tien Linh and Binh Duong still have the National Cup semi-final, playing away against SLNA on 26/6. The 1997-born striker aims for a victory to bring the final to Binh Duong's home ground. The other semi-final will see CAHN face The Cong.

Before the season ended, there were questions surrounding Tien Linh's future with Binh Duong. "It's hard to say about the future, but as long as I wear the Binh Duong shirt, I will give my all," the 2024 Vietnamese Golden Ball winner said.

Tien Linh is the 4th domestic player to win the Golden Boot since the National Championship was renamed V-League in the 2000-2001 season. The three previous winners are former strikers Dang Dao of Khanh Hoa (11 goals in 2000-2001), Ho Van Loi of Cang Sai Gon (now TP HCM) (9 goals in 2001-2002), and Nguyen Anh Duc of Binh Duong (17 goals in 2017).

Anh Duc's 17 goals also stand as the most goals scored by a Vietnamese player in a single V-League season. Following him are Le Van Thang with 16 goals for Hai Phong in 2016 and Tien Linh with 15 goals in 2018. The naturalized player with the most goals as Golden Boot winner is Hoang Vu Samson with 23 in 2014. Nguyen Xuan Son's record of 31 goals in the 2023-2024 season occurred before he obtained Vietnamese citizenship.

Tien Linh has scored 64 goals in the V-League. He trails Nguyen Xuan Son (65), Pape Omar (77), Gonzalo and Timothy (both with 79), Oseni (83), Nguyen Anh Duc (93), Antonio Carlos (95), Huynh Kesley Alves (98), Le Cong Vinh (116), Nguyen Van Quyet (121), Do Merlo (147), and Hoang Vu Samson (223).

This is the first time the V-League has had three players share the Golden Boot. The league previously had two joint top scorers on four occasions: in 2009 (Gaston Merlo of Da Nang and Lazaro of the now-defunct Quan khu 4 with 15 goals each); 2013 (Ha Noi T&T's, now Ha Noi FC, Samson and Gonzalo with 14 goals each); 2019 (Bruno Cantanhede of Viettel, now The Cong, and Pape Omar of Ha Noi with 15 goals each); and 2020 (Rimario of Ha Noi and Pedro Paulo of Sai Gon FC with 12 goals each).

With 7 goals, Nguyen Xuan Son is still Nam Dinh's top scorer, one goal ahead of Brenner and Ly Cong Hoang Anh. However, with 17 different players finding the net, Nam Dinh boasts the league's best attack with 51 goals, five more than Ha Noi FC. They also have the best defense, conceding only 18 goals, two fewer than Ha Tinh.

Hieu Luong