Viettel FC sign two new foreign players from Brazil, Uzbekistan

The club had a bumpy start to the season after losing 0-1 to Hai Phong FC and drawing with Thanh Hoa FC in the first two rounds.

As a result, they decided to let go of Brazilian defender Walter Luiz de Araujo and sign 1.82-meter-tall forward Matos to strengthen their offense.

Last season, the 30-year-old played for Liga 1's Madura United FC where he scored one goal and one assist in three appearances.

Viettel also inked a deal with Abdumuminov earlier this week.

Since the club earned a direct ticket to the group stage of AFC Champion League (ACL) as the champions of last V. League 1 season, they were allowed to recruit three foreign players plus one from an AFC member nation following the 3+1 rule.

The 27-year-old midfielder at 1.85 meters in height has been a member of Uzbekistan's national football team since 2012 but made only two appearances.

He played for Persija Jakarta FC during the 2017-2018 season, winning Indonesia's top-flight Liga 1 title and advancing to 2018 AFC Cup, though only making it to the zone semi-finals. He moved back to his country to play for Bukhara FC in 2018-2019, then for Andijan FC the next season and later moved to Lokomotiv Tashkent.

With the latest additions, Viettel have finalized their list of four imported players for this year. The other two are Brazilian striker Pedro Paulo and forward Caique Venancio.

Viettel were put into AFC Champions League's Group F along with a play-off winner, Thailand's BG Pathum and South Korean giant Ulsan Huyndai, the defending champions. The tournament will begin with the preliminary stage on April 7. The group stage is set to kick off on April 14, with games to be played at centralized venues.

The club will face Becamex Binh Duong FC on home turf at Hanoi's Hang Day Stadium this Sunday.