SHB Da Nang Football Club recently announced that it had terminated its contract with Malian striker Souleymane Diabate, just 2 months after signing the deal, due to his heart disease and knee ligament injuries.  This has upset coach Le Huynh Duc’s plans for next year’s V-League season as his team have come to depend a great deal on their foreign players.

SHB DN enjoyed a golden period between 2010 and 2012 thanks to the great efforts of such outstanding foreign footballers as Almeida, Molina, Nicolas and Gaston Merlo.  These players all came from South American countries, including Brazil and Argentina.

Malian striker Souleymane Diabate

Since the last South American footballer, Gaston Merlo, left SHB DN in April 2014 due to long-term injuries, the local football club has recruited several foreign players for recent league seasons.  These included Milorad Janjus, David Danny, Bojan Mamic, Bernardo, Melquiades Gomez, Anto Pejic, Yaikel Pérez Rousseaux and Sean Peter Roy Fraser.  However, these players did not meet the requirements of the coaching board.

SHB DN is now recruiting some foreign players from Africa for trial periods in preparation for next season.  Just in case no foreign footballers meet the requirements of the coaching board, coach Duc has had to adjust the team’s playing style in order to match the club’s existing players.