VietNamNet Bridge – While the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) has restricted V-League teams to a maximum of four foreign players, these same players have been integral to scoring goals.

According to VFF statistics, of a total 386 goals scored during this year's V-League, 234 (61 per cent) were scored by foreign players, almost double the amount scored by Vietnamese players.

During the 2009 V-League, foreign players scored 324 goals, accounting for 59 per cent of a total 548 goals scored while in 2010, foreign players scored 315 goals, making up 61 per cent of a 513 total. Only two Vietnamese players have manage to win the award for top scorer since the V League kicked off ten years ago, foreign players such as Brazilian Almeida, who plays for SHB Da Nang and who netted 23 goals during the 2008 season, dominating the score boards.

V-League clubs have often put foreign players in positions requiring strength including fullback, halfback and striker.

This has meant that talented domestic players rarely get a proper opportunity to show what they are made of.

During the past two years, teams have been offering contracts to naturalised foreign players, which has not affected foreign-player quotas.

Through this strategy, teams will be permitted to play one foreign-born player, in addition to three foreign passport-holding players.

There are currently 18 naturalised players playing in Viet Nam, 15 of which play for eight clubs in the V-League while the remaining three play for First Division clubs.

Ninh Binh currently tops the table with the most foreign players with three naturalised players on its books.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News