Lucao's Hat-Trick That Silenced Lạch Tray: When Loyalty Is Weighed Against Money

On the evening of September 5, Lạch Tray Stadium fell silent in an unexpected way. Not because of the 1-4 defeat — Hải Phòng had tasted home defeat before — but because the player who scored the first goal, the second goal, and then completed the hat-trick, was the same person: Lucas Vinicius, known as Lucao, the Brazilian striker who once wore the colors of the port city club throughout the 2026 and 2026 seasons. He left in silence. He returned with a roar. The third goal — a diagonal header in the 71st minute, from a cross on the right flank — not only sealed the 4-1 victory for Ninh Bình FC but also closed a contradictory circle between fan sentiment and the harsh realities of professional football. In the stands, a portion of Hải Phòng supporters could not hold back their jeers. Strangely, those jeers were not directed at their own team, but at someone who had once worn the number 9 shirt for them. Lucao scored his first goal in the 23rd minute, equalizing after Hải Phòng had taken the lead. He celebrated by running to the corner flag, kneeling and placing his hand on his chest — a gesture that loyal Hải Phòng fans would recognize immediately, as it was his trademark celebration in the red and blue colors of the port city. The second goal came in the 58th minute, a decisive left-footed finish inside the box. And the third — the hat-trick — in the 71st minute, a diagonal header. Three goals. Three times he ran to the corner of Lạch Tray, where the North Stand usually gathers the most passionate supporters. Three times his chest touched down, as if he was paying a debt no one had asked him to pay. That night, on social media, an account claiming to be the official fanpage of Hải Phòng FC — HPFC Capital — posted a brief status: "Raise a dog to see how loyal it is." The post was not deleted. The post was screenshotted. The post spread across Vietnamese football forums within less than two hours. I have been following Lucao since he first came to Vietnam in 2026. At that time, Hải Phòng had just finished a disappointing season and desperately needed a reliable foreign striker. Lucao arrived quietly — a 1.85m Brazilian forward, left-footed, average pace but excellent positioning. In his first two seasons, he scored 12 and 14 goals respectively in the V-League, becoming Hải Phòng's top scorer for a long time. But professional football is not sacred enough that love can defeat a paycheck. In the 2026-2026 season, Thể Công - Viettel signed Lucao with a reported transfer fee in the millions. That was the market. That was the game. And in his very first match back at Lạch Tray in Thể Công - Viettel colors, Lucao scored twice, helping his new team secure a 2-1 comeback victory. Back then, he celebrated too, but there was little reaction. Perhaps because Hải Phòng was fighting relegation at the time, fans had no energy left for anger. Perhaps a brace was not painful enough. Perhaps people need a big enough reason to hate, and two goals was not it. Three goals are different. Three goals are a statement. Three goals are a hat-trick, and a hat-trick away against a former club — that is something only truly confident players dare to express. On the HPFC Capital fanpage, the post "Raise a dog to see how loyal it is" received hundreds of comments overnight. The vast majority did not support that choice of words. "Suddenly ashamed on behalf of Hải Phòng people because of an admin like this," one account wrote. "This page admin does not represent Hải Phòng fans," another replied. "Professional football must be accepted. Even a Hải Phòng-born player playing for another team must give their all when returning to Lạch Tray," another supporter commented. But there were also dissenting voices, though fewer. "Right, the dog came back and bit three times and celebrated happily," one account wrote. These voices reveal the real pain — not that Lucao betrayed anyone, but that people want to believe football still has room for loyalty, and when harsh reality shatters that belief, collective pride is wounded. Lucao's story is not unique. In V-League history, there is no shortage of cases where foreign players scored against their former clubs and faced fan backlash. Geovane, a Brazilian foreign player who once played for Sài Gòn FC, after moving to Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh, scored against his former team and was pelted with stones by Sài Gòn fans during a match in the 2026-2026 season. That was an extreme and condemnable act, but it showed a reality: Vietnamese football fan culture is still learning to mature alongside the professionalization of the league. The V-League 2026-2027 season marks the fourth consecutive year the league has implemented foreign player restrictions and invested in stadium infrastructure. Lạch Tray Sports Center — Hải Phòng's home ground — has been upgraded with improved lighting and seating to AFC standards, a significant step forward from the stadium of just a few years ago. But while physical infrastructure changes, the fan culture of a portion of supporters has not kept pace. And that is the real issue worth discussing — not whether Lucao should celebrate, but why a portion of fans still measure a player's value with the ruler of loyalty, while V-League clubs themselves are increasingly buying and selling players like human resources businesses. It is worth noting that the HPFC Capital fanpage has only 7,800 followers — a tiny number compared to the hundreds of thousands of actual Hải Phòng supporters. But in the age of social media, a post can be screenshotted, shared, and turned into an event within hours, regardless of how many followers the poster has. That is the power — and also the danger — of digital space. A thoughtless statement from a small page admin can become representative of an entire city, and that is unfair to thousands of civilized, dignified Hải Phòng fans who know how to celebrate victories and accept defeats appropriately. There is a small detail I want to emphasize. After the third goal, when Lucao ran to the corner of Lạch Tray to celebrate in his familiar way, the captain of Hải Phòng — a domestic player — did nothing. He did not push, did not curse, did not even look Lucao in the eye. He just stood there, hands on hips, and continued the match. That was the reaction of a professional player. That was the reaction that Vietnamese football needs to see more of — not anger, but respect for an opponent giving their all, even if that opponent was once a teammate. Ninh Bình FC, after the 4-1 victory, climbed to third place on the V-League 2026-2027 standings after the first round, with 3 points and a goal difference of +3. Lucao, with three goals, became the top scorer of round 1. That was performance. That was the job. And in professional football, performance and the job are the only things recognized. As for Hải Phòng, the 1-4 home defeat in the opening round of the new season was a major shock, but not a disaster. The port city club still has 25 matches ahead to improve, and with their history, Hải Phòng always knows how to rise from the most painful falls. What is more concerning is not the score, but how a portion of fans — though small — are reacting to the inevitable truth of modern football. If every time a former player scores against their old club, fans bring out loyalty to compare, then Vietnamese football will never be able to attract truly talented foreign players, because those stars will choose markets where they are treated as professionals, not as livestock to be raised. On the evening of September 5, 2026, when Lucao walked off Lạch Tray after the final whistle, no one chased him. No water bottles thrown at his head. No wooden sticks. Only the silence of a stadium learning to accept that football, after all, is just a job. And in that job, there is no room for false loyalty — only performance, results, and how a person rises after being underestimated. Three goals by Lucao say it all. The rest is the story of those watching — and how they choose to listen.