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| Full name | Southern Steel - Saigon Port Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Dissolved | 2009 |
| Stadium | Thống Nhất Stadium |
| Capacity | 25000 |
| League | V.League 1 |
| 2009 | 13th of 14 |
Saigon Port Football Club (Vietnamese: Câu lạc bộ bóng đá Cảng Sài Gòn), commonly known as CSG, was a Vietnamese football club based in Ho Chi Minh City, playing from 1 November 1975 until dissolved on 22 January 2009.[1][2] Along with Thể Công, the team is one of the two most oldest football club in Vietnamese football, with 4 times winning V.League 1 and 2 times Vietnamese Football Cup.[3][4] In 2009 , the team changed its name to Ho Chi Minh City FC due to financial problem.[5] The club's home stadium was Thống Nhất Stadium.[6]
On 1 November 1975, the Saigon Port Workers Football Club was officially established.[2] The team quickly become well-known in Southern Vietnam, together with the Customs F.C. - their local rivals.[7]
In 1980, Saigon Port was one of 10 clubs of Southern Vietnam to participate in the 1980 Vietnam National A1 Football Cup - the first football championship in Vietnam.[8] In 1983, their former defender Phạm Huỳnh Tam Lang returned from Germany and was appointed as a head coach for the club.[9] In 1984, after lacking of players for the team, they recruited young players from their youth academy including Đặng Trần Chỉnh, Hà Vương Ngầu Nại, Nguyễn Hoàng Châu, Phạm Văn Tám, ... This squad was then considered as the "Golden generation" of the club.[7] In 1990, their youth academy striker Hà Vương Ngầu Nại also won the top scorer of the 1989 V-League with 10 goals.[10] However, until the end of 1990, the team had not won any more titles besides the 1986 V.League.
From 1990-2001, many players of the team were called to the Vietnam national team including Nguyễn Hồng Phẩm, Hà Vương Ngầu Nại, Lư Đình Tuấn, Hồ Văn Lợi, Huỳnh Hồng Sơn. In 2001, under the name Saigon Port Football Club, they won another league title in the 2001-2002 season.[11] However, they had been relegated to the Second Division in the next season, but then cameback to the first division again in 2005.[12]
At the end of 2008, Saigon Port announced it lacked funds to maintain the club, resulting in the abolition of the Saigon Port.[13][14] With only Vietnam Steel Company being the main sponsor, the club's name has been changed to Ho Chi Minh City Football Club, with 15 billion VND invested in the club.[15]