Section 5

The author goes into the complexities of Ha Noi football in the 1930s outlining what he sees as the big 4 clubs.

With this dynamic, Vietnamese players in Hanoi founded a number of football clubs which were popularised and loved by football fans. They were called the famous four: Hanoi Club (Stade Hanoien), Ánh Chớp club (Éclair), Ngọn Giáo Thần club (La Lance) and Lạc Long club. They all had a comparable strength and always attracted many spectators.

Hanoi Club was established in 1921–previously named EDEP, because of Hanoi Sports School. Later, with the support of Mr. Hoàng Hữu Huy, president and editor of Ngọ báo and Tam Kỳ Tạp Chí Hà Nội, and also a football lover, the club changed its name to Stade Hanoien. Fans prefered the more familiar nicknamed, Xì-tạch club. The first class of Xì-tạch’s players included Nhuận, Vịnh, Chấm, Hai, Xuân, Sự, Uyên, and Trung, all workers, students, or Hanoi youth. The team often wore black shirts, white shorts, and red socks, which made spectators consider Xì-Tạch to be the "Red Eldest Brother" of the capital's big four at the time. On the field, they always played with great spirit, and were fast and fierce. The heart and soul of the Xì-tạch football club was the club captain Ngô Trì Viễn, an elite civil servant at the Department of Land Administration. He entered the football scene with his captaincy of Cuồng Phong club (Rafale). After Cuồng Phong club disbanded, Mr. Viễn transfered his leadership to Xì-tạch. A young man with intelligence, decoration and simple minded, Ngo Tri Vien was nonetheless a very solid defender. In addition to his skill in playing football, he was also a model professional, who motivated  fellow players when they encounter difficulties, taking care of them when injured. Other important figures in the Xì-tạch line up included keeper Nhuận, striker kế, striker Nghiêm and his younger brother Uyên. Some Xì-tạch players such as Vịnh, Chấm, and Trung later went to the South to play football for famous Saigon teams, notably Văn Đức Vinh, a player lauded in the Southern press with such epithets as "Vietnam's number one football talent" and the “Zhao Zilong of the field".

Of the big four of Hanoi at the time, Ánh Chớp club (Éclair) had a reputation for very simplistic gamestyle, but being adored by its crowd. They were known as "Purple Shirt Boys of Rondony" because of their headquarters located in Rondony Street (Now named Hàng Thùng street) and their kit was a purple shirt with blue collar. This team was established in the early 20th century, after the initiative of Mr. Trần Văn Quý, a reputable person with a great ability to organize and persuade others. He was particularly knowledgeable about football and had excellent financial ability. Mr. Quý was appointed by the founders to be the councilor and club captain. Right from the establishment of the Ánh Chớp club (Éclair), Mr. Quý coined the motto: "we will play a technical style of football, for the joy of sport and for the spirit of friendship with other teams". And the beauty of this saying persists. At that time, most football clubs in the capital were without their own fields; they often practiced along the side of Hồng River. Mr. Trần Văn Quý requested the city government to grant a large piece of land to be renovated into a football field for the home team to practice and compete. The French officials wanted to please the local people so they agreed. Nhà Dầu football field (English translation: oil house, because it is located next to Shell's gas depot) was built, the first official football field for a Vietnamese football team in Hanoi. The period 1930-1937 was the most prosperous time for the Ánh Chớp club (Éclair). The ideal line-up from the period would be: Chung (GK), Lương - Tâm - Sinh(Quy) (DF), Tùng - Thảo (MF), Thược - Ba - Hựu - Bình - Tín (FW) . In the 1932-1933 football season, Ánh Chớp rose to become one of the strongest teams in Hanoi; With the famous, Tonic, one of the best goalkeepers of that time, the front three of 

Thơm, Luyến and Ba “Oldhead”, and defender Bình, Ánh Chớp won four consecutive Northern Championship titles. As for Mr. Quý, the president and club captain, he later became a famous journalist specializing in writing about football. In 1940-1941, he became the head editor of the Tin mới Thể thao (New sport) newspaper published in Hanoi. After the French resistance war, Trần Văn Quý was also one of the journalists who founded Thể Dục Thể Thao (Health and Sports) newspaper. With the pen names Tam and Quốc Dũng, he continued to be a reputable and perceptive writer. He died in 1973, at the age of 67.

Hanoi's third star was the Lạc Long football club. Lạc Long's name is associated with its founder, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Tuân (born T Son). An educator by profession, Mr. Tuân was also an active member of the Board of Directors of the Northern Football Association in the 1930s. He was very passionate about sports, especially football.  The Clubhouse of the Lạc Long team was located at Tiên Sinh street (Hanoi), and their yellow (with red) striped kit was inspired by the traditional costume of the Âu Lạc’s dragon symbol. Lạc Long’s achievements did not measure up to Xì-tạch or Ánh Chớp’s successes, but they always offered strong and impressive resistance. A typical example is the match between Lạc Long and Xì-tạch at Long Biên Stadium on November 23, 1930. Although trailing by two early goals, Lạc Long was able to remain composed, and kept on pressing,  controlling the field. Lạc Long's players such as Thiện, Hạp, Bào and Gi took shots in turn, but Xì-tạch’s keeper Nhuận made many excellent saves and only conceded one goal. However, in that episode, the spectators believed that while Lạc Long lost the match, they won the mentality battle. Immediately after that, Mr. Tuân took Lạc Long to beat Nam Định provincial team 2-1, drew 2-2 against Ngọn Giáo Thần (La Lance) and beat Union Sport in Hải Dương province with a score of 2-1 in a tense challenge match. Commenting on his team, Mr. Tuan often said: "Lạc Long is not a financially wealthy football club; in other words, 

we’re poor. But the players know how to play in their own way, for the fun of the sport and for the movement." So, understood in today's language: from the first days of football, Vietnamese-owned football teams preferred to play the game  beautifully according to the spirit of fair-play.

Among Hanoi's big four, Ngọn Giáo Thần football club (La Lance) was the last to be established. In 1926 they became an official shoe-wearing football team in Hainoi. Their predecessor was the Nayret Street football club (Cửa Nam), once the best team of the shoe-less football movement popular in Hanoi. The founders of Ngọn Giáo Thần (la Lance) were Mr. Toàn, Thịnh, Lập and Hiền. Notably, their line-up consisted of three French players, and goalkeeper Jean is considered the soul of the team:  Jean - Sung (Sách) - Hoàn - Thịnh - Hồ - Vinh - Hiển - Tạo- J.Sen - Lautard.

Similar to Lạc Long, Ngọn Giáo's winning record did not match Xì-tạch or Ánh Chớp. But their appearance on the field raised the football culture of Hanoi in particular and the North in general to another level. Many of the performances of Ngọn Giáo Thần were on a par with their opponent. In March 1931, this team excelled in overcoming the ferocity of all other Northern opponents to win the Phó Đức Mai Championship.