VietNam Culture: Football

Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Women's team targets Olympics

Focused: Members of the national women's football team train at Tam Dao Sports Centre in the northern province of Vinh Phuc. — VNS Photo Quang Thang

HA NOI — The women's football team would put aside its disappointment at not being able to defend its title at the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia and focus on the FIFA Women's Olympic Football Tournament 2012 qualifying campaign next month, Chinese coach Chen Yun Fat said.

The Indonesian organising committee has announced that female football will not be played at the Southeast Asian Games this year.

Viet Nam Olympic Committee general secretary Hoang Vinh Giang said it would be difficult to change the committee's decision.

Chen said: "At present, the team are training their physical strength at Tam Dao Sports Centre in the northern province of Vinh Phuc where the weather is very severe. It rains all day and is very cold.

"We always define that we must try our best against any rival at any tournament."

Chen also revealed that six young talented footballers had been added to the team and that the FIFA qualifiers tournament would hone their skills and experience.

The Asian Zone qualifiers start in March having three phases until September to determine the two teams that will represent Asia.

Viet Nam is in group A of the draw, which comprises Thailand, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar.

Group A and seven other teams from groups B and C – India, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Iran, Palestine and Jordan – will take part in the inaugural phase of qualification that kicks off on March 8 and winds up on March 27. — VNS

Friday, February 18, 2011

Female football chopped from Games programme

HA NOI – Female football will not be played at the 26th South East Asian Games in Indonesia following a decision by the Indonesia organising committee, a major blow to the Viet Nam team which is the defending champion.

Viet Nam Olympic Committee general secretary Hoang Vinh Giang said it would be difficult to change the committee's decision.

Indonesia was not good at female football so the Games committee was not eager for this event, he said.

"The Games committee's reason is that they don't have enough football grounds," Giang said. "To organise the female football event, they need two Asian Football Confederation standard grounds, not including training grounds.

"The Viet Nam committee will give its opinion on this problem at the meeting with Indonesia to discuss competition programmes. We will request they hold female football. But in my experience, there is little chance to modify the Games committee's determination. They have the right to add or reject events."

Meanwhile, the national female football team, the Games defending champions, convened at the National Sports Training Centre in Ha Noi yesterday in preparation for tournaments this year, coached by Chinese Chen Yun Fat. They include the upcoming SEA Games and the Olympic London 2012 qualifying rounds.

Viet Nam Football Federation vice chairman Nguyen Lan Trung said the federation was waiting for the official announcement from the Games committee before adjusting the team's training schedule.

"Meanwhile, the federation would ask the Viet Nam Olympic Committee and football federations in the region to petition the Games committee to include female football in the programme for the 26th SEA Games," Trung said. – VNS

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Female football chopped from Games

Victory denied: The Vietnamese women's team celebrates after winning the Southeast Asian Games trophy in the Philippines in 2005. Female football won't be included in the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia later this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Truong

HA NOI — Female football will not be played at the 26th South east Asian Games in Indonesia following a decision by the Indonesia organising committee, a major blow to the Viet Nam team which is the defending champion.

Viet Nam Olympic Committee vice chairman and general secretary Hoang Vinh Giang said it would be difficult to change the committee's decision.

"Indonesia was not good at female football so the Games committee was not eager for this event," he said.

Meanwhile, the national female football team, the Games defending champions, convened at the National Sports Centre in Ha Noi yesterday in preparation for tournaments this year, coached by Chinese Chen Yun Fat. They include the upcoming SEA Games and the Olympic London 2012 qualifying rounds.

Viet Nam Football Federation vice chairman Nguyen Lan Trung said the federation was waiting for the official announcement from the Games committee before adjusting the team's training schedule.

26th SEA Games not to have female football

Female football will not be played at the 26th South East Asian Games
in Indonesia following a decision by the Indonesia organising
committee, a major blow to the Vietnam team which is the defending
champion.

Vietnam Olympic Committee general secretary Hoang Vinh Giang said it would be difficult to change the committee's decision.

Indonesia is not good at female football so the Games committee is not eager for this event, he said.

"The
Games committee's reason is that they don't have enough football
grounds," Giang said. "To organise the female football event, they need
two Asian Football Confederation standard grounds, not including
training grounds.

"The Vietnam committee will give its opinion on
this problem at the meeting with Indonesia to discuss competition
programmes. We will request they hold female football. But in my
experience, there is little chance to modify the Games committee's
determination. They have the right to add or reject events."

Meanwhile,
the national female football team, the Games defending champions,
convened at the National Sports Training Centre in Hanoi on Feb. 14 in
preparation for tournaments this year, coached by Chinese Chen Yun Fat.
They include the upcoming SEA Games and the Olympic London 2012
qualifying rounds.

Vietnam Football Federation vice chairman
Nguyen Lan Trung said the federation was waiting for the official
announcement from the Games committee before adjusting the team's
training schedule.

"Meanwhile, the federation would ask the
Vietnam Olympic Committee and football federations in the region to
petition the Games committee to include female football in the programme
for the 26th SEA Games," ./.

Monday, February 14, 2011

26th SEA Games not to have female football

HA NOI – The Indonesia SEA Games Organizing Committee (INASOC) has announced to Olympic committees of Southeast Asian nations that female football will not be played at the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia. INASOC said this issue will be proclaimed officially on February 25-28 in Indonesia.

Exchanging views on this concern, general secretary of Viet Nam Olympic Committee (VOC), Hoang Vinh Giang said that "It's difficult to change INASOC's decision on female football in the 26th SEA Games."

"Few days ago, I received INASOC's announcement on the above matter. INASOC's reason is that they meet difficulties in football grounds. To organise female football event, they need to have two Asian Football Confederation's standard grounds, not including training ones," Giang said.

According to Giang, Indonesian is not good at female football. So INASOC is not eager for this event.

"In principle, the VOC will give its opinions on this problem in the meeting to discuss competing programmes with the hosts and request Indonesia to continue to hold female football. But at my experience, there is little chance to modify INASOC's determination. They have rights to add or reject events in the official competing programme," Giang said.

Meanwhile, the national female football team, SEA Games defending champion, coached by Chinese Chen Yun Fat convened at Ha Noi-based National Sports Training Centre yesterday in preparation for tournaments this year such as Olympic London 2012's qualifying rounds and upcoming SEA Games.

Vice chairman of Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF), Nguyen Lan Trung said "VFF is waiting for the latest decision of INASOC and then adjust the team's training plans. VFF will ask VOC and some football federations in the region to campaign INASOC to set female football in the competing programme of 26th SEA Games." – VNS

Friday, February 11, 2011

RoK’s football star to play in VN charity match

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s football star Park Ji-sung is planning to play in a charity match in Vietnam.

Park,
who plays for Manchester United, will line up alongside fellow
teammates Patrice Evra and Edwin Van de Sar along with former Juventus
hitman Pavel Nedved and Manchester City's Carlos Tevez.

The
match, which is scheduled for June 15, has received support from the
Vietnam Football Federation who also said they were making detailed
plans in preparation for the event.

Park's agent company is
looking into a suitable venue for the game and money raised through
ticket sales will be given to the VFF to develop the nation's junior
football movement.

Park, who played a key role in RoK’s World Cup
2010 campaign, also introduced his JS Foundation that focuses on
charitable activities in Southeast Asia on Feb. 9.

Park said goodbye to the national team in January after winning his 100th cap in a match against Japan during the Asian Cup.

Park
has played in three World Cups, scoring in each tournament, and is one
of the greatest Asian players ever to put on a football shirt./.

Park to play in VN charity match

Fired up: South Korean football star Park Ji-sung will come to Viet Nam for a charity football match scheduled for June 15. — AFP/VNA Photo

HA NOI — South Korean football star Park Ji-sung is planning to play in a charity match in Viet Nam.

Park, who plays for Manchester United, will line up alongside fellow teammates Patrice Evra and Edwin Van de Sar along with former Juventus hitman Pavel Nedved and Manchester City's Carlos Tevez.

The match, which is scheduled for June 15, has received support from the Viet Nam Football Federation who also said they were making detailed plans in preparation for the event.

Park's agent company is looking into a suitable venue for the game and money raised through ticket sales will be given to the VFF to develop the nation's junior football movement.

Park, who played a key role in South Korea's World Cup 2010 campaign, also introduced his JS Foundation that focuses on charitable activities in Southeast Asia on Wednesday.

Park said goodbye to the national team in January after winning his 100th cap in a match against Japan during the Asian Cup.

Park has played in three World Cups, scoring in each tournament, and is one of the greatest Asian players ever to put on a football shirt. — VNS

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Park Ji-sung to play in Viet Nam

HA NOI – South Korean football star Park Ji-sung is planning to play in a charity match in Viet Nam.

Park, who plays for Manchester United, will line up alongside fellow teammates Patrice Evra and Edwin Van de Sar along with former Juventus hitman Pavel Nedved and Manchester City's Carlos Tevez.

The match, which is scheduled for June 15, has received support from the Viet Nam Football Federation who also said they were making detailed plans in preparation for the event.

Park's agent company is looking into a suitable venue for the game and money raised through ticket sales will be given to the VFF to develop the nation's junior football movement.

Park, who played a key role in South Korea's World Cup 2010 campaign, also introduced his JS Foundation that focuses on charitable activities in Southeast Asia on Wednesday.

Park said goodbye to the national team in January after winning his 100th cap in a match against Japan during the Asian Cup.

Park has played in three World Cups, scoring in each tournament, and is one of the greatest Asian players ever to put on a football shirt. – VNS

Park Ji Sung to tour Vietnam for charity

Park Ji Sung

South Korea football star Park Ji Sung is scheduled to participate in a charity football tournament held in Vietnam in June, the Chosun Ilbo news agency announced yesterday.

The charity program called the Asian Dream Cup will also draw participation of other well-known footballers like Lee Chung Yong of Bolton Wanderers, Ki Sung Yueng of Glasgow Celtics, Park's Manchester United teammate Patrice Evra of France, and retired Japanese star Hidetoshi Nakata.

South Korea’s former captain Park Ji Sung is moving on to the next stage in his career as the founder of a charitable JS Foundation.

"This will be a new starting point and the final destination in my football career," said Park, who retired from the national team last month. “I want to do something meaningful through football to share with the world."

Among the charity event's sponsors are notable sport figures like Choo Shin Soo of the Cleveland Indians, Olympic weightlifting champion Jang Mi Ran, and Hur Jae, head coach of KCC Egis in Korea’s professional basketball league, as well as entertainment celebrities including actor Jung Jun Ho and singer Kim Heung Gook.

"We want to promote football in Southeast Asia through various projects in cooperation with football associations there,” said Park, who is the foundation's executive director.

The paper also announced that Vietnam was chosen as the venue for the foundation's first project thanks to active support from the country's football association as well as the high popularity of Manchester United and Park there.

His father Park Sung Jong along with some members of the foundation paid a five-day visit to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and worked with Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) last December.

“VFF has contacted JS Foundation and promised to create best conditions for the success of the upcoming charity football tournament,” said VFF’s General Secretary Tran Quoc Tuan.

“I do hope that Vietnamese spectators will have a chance to witness great performance by renowned footballers like Park Ji Sung.”

Meanwhile, Tran Dinh Huan, director of Thong Nhat Sports Center in HCMC, told Tuoi Tre that according to the JS foundation, Thong Nhat Stadium is less modern than Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium and its capacity is not as large as My Dinh’s.

However, “When we said that a large number of South Koreans live and work in HCMC, the foundation’s members find it a big advantage [to play in HCMC],” he added.

sung 2

Friday, January 14, 2011

Gia Lai centre to provide top professional players

HA NOI – V-League football team Hoang Anh Gia Lai will recruit the first graduates to emerge from a training course at the Hoang Anh Gia Lai-Arsenal-JMG Academy in the next three years.

The US$4 million football academy in co-operation with English Premier League club Arsenal, began its first course under-12 year olds three years ago.

They have been undergoing professional football training and regular schooling under the seven-year free programme that is aimed at creating top international players.

"They will be the first players to graduate from our academy. Kids receive full time football training and education, to help them prepare to play professionally in Viet Nam or elsewhere in Asia, Europe or even England," deputy director of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Sports Stock Company Tran Van Minh said yesterday.

"We'll sign professional contracts with them by 2014 when they are 17 years old. They can play for Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the V-League or transfer to another team in Southeast Asia or Asia," Minh said.

He also added that coaches from Arsenal had said that two of the first intake of students eligible for European championships.

The academy enrolled 10 young hopefuls on the second course last year. – VNS

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Southeast Asia remains football’s backwaters

Thailand’s coach Steve Darby calls on Southeast Asian nations to improve their football infrastructure for developments

Long considered a sick man in Asia, Southeast Asian football has been unable to get rid of the tag despite making great efforts in the past decade.

No country from the region has ever won a title at the Asian level, and Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia seem highly unlikely to change that any time soon.

Peter Butler – a former midfielder at English club West Ham who has coaching experience in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia -- said Southeast Asia is the “little boy” of Asia.

“They need better infrastructure and qualified managers.

“Japan and South Korea have pulled far ahead of them.”

Thailand’s coach Steve Darby also stressed the vital role of infrastructure in developing football.

Alfred Riedl, Vietnam’s former coach and currently head of the Indonesian team, said youth training plays the most important role but many nations in the region have failed to do it.

“They are not patient to wait for 10 years for a generation of young players to mature,” he added. “The period is longer than the office terms of football officials who need instant results.”

Cambodia’s Australian-born coach Scott O’Donnell pointed to another aspect of the problem: “Southeast Asian teams seem to focus on competing with one another and not on longer-term plans to catch up with the world.”

Angry TV football fans to meet Kplus

HA NOI – Kplus, a subsidiary of VTV and French station Canal Plus, plans to meet the Vietnamese Football Fans Club next week and explain the cost of its football coverage to subscribers.

Kplus, (known as K+) won a US$10 million contract for three-years exclusive rights to broadcast the world's most popular football leagues.

Last year, it announced a monthly fee of VND250,000 (US$13), which covers the English Premier League, Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A.

The figure was four times the previous average monthly VND70,000 fee that K+ charged subscribers.

The high cost has prevented millions of viewers from seeing the English Premiership on local cable television services on Sundays.

As usual, subscribers of the popular VTV cable and VTC pay a monthly fee of only VND65,000 ($2.60) and VND90,000 ($4.70).

The fan club has collected 140,000 signatures from members across the nation protesting at Kplus prices.

Last year, a meeting was held to solve the issue between Kplus, Viet Nam Television (VTV), Viet Nam Multi-Media Corporation (VTC), HCM City Television and Ha Noi Television, but nothing was decided.

"We want Kplus to provide a reasonable price. The new price is too high," said Nguyen Duc Trung, chairman of Viet Nam Football Fans Club.

"We plan to collect one million signatures from Vietnamese fans objecting to the charges," he said. – VNS

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Gia Lai adopt new sponsors

The VP Bank will sponsor V-League's team Hoang Anh Gia Lai in a new one-year contract, the team's spokesman Quoc Anh confirmed yesterday.

Two-time V-League champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai, who have failed to win the premiership since 2004, will play 2008 champions Da Nang in the opener away from home on January 22.

The team is set to face Hoa Phat Ha Noi in the knock-out round of the National Cup in Ha Noi this Sunday.

The Central Highlands team had strengthened the squad with two Thai-born midfielders and a Brazilian striker, who have been granted Vietnamese citizenship.

Gia Lai also play with Croatian striker Mario Mijatovic, who played for Austrian First League Lustenau and Lask Linz, in the new football season.

Former Thai national team member Dusit Chalermsan, 41, will coach the team.

VN coach, referee win golds

Coach Mai Duc Chung and retired referee Do Dinh Hung were awarded with golden campaign medals from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for their contributions to football.

Chung, who has been coaching football for over 30 years, helped the national women's football team win the Southeast Asian Games twice in 2003 and 2005, while Hung,66, had an 18-year career and spent another 14 years working as a national referee instructor.

The AFC also rewarded three other Viet Nam Football Federation officials with silver and bronze campaign medals.

PetroVietnam to train in China

The PetroVietnam table tennis team will spend a month training in China this March, coach Truong Thoi Nhiem announced yesterday.

The Ha Noi-based team, who signed two-time Olympian Doan Kien Quoc for VND500 million (US$26,000) two years ago, will play in the National Table Tennis Championship in Da Nang city in April.

PetroVietnam were the first Vietnamese team to sign Chinese players Kou Lei and Yang Ce at the International Table Tennis Golden Paddle Tournament last year. — VNS

Saturday, January 8, 2011

VN Football Federation chief wins AFC seat

The general secretary of the Viet Nam Football Federation, Tran Quoc

Tuan, won a seat on the Asian Football Confederation's executive committee at the 24th AFC Congress that wrapped up on Thursday.

Tuan got 30 votes and was joined by Winston Lee of Singapore (33) and U Zaw Zaw of Myanmar (23). Timor Leste's Francisco Kalbaudi (20) and Indonesia's Nurdin Halid (21) lost out.

The voting was done regionally with each of the four zones getting three members into the Committee.

Liem to compete in the Netherlands

International Grandmaster Le Quang Liem will leave for the Netherlands' Tata Steel chess championship next week.

Master Liem accompanied by coach Lam Minh Chau will compete in the tournament from January 14-30 in Wijk Ann Zee city.

The Vietnamese who is expected to be seeded No 5 will take part in group B against 13 other masters whose FIDE Elo rating around 2,700.

Group A is for contestants selected from the world's top 25, while group C is for masters with Elo rating below that of B Group contestants.

The Tata Steel Tournament is one of the world's most prestigious tournaments, regularly attracting world champions. The winner of group B and C will win promotion for the next tournament. — VNS

Friday, December 24, 2010

City football aims to stop relegation woes

HCM CITY – HCM City football has shown intentions of putting a stop to its shameful results over the last two years at local football competitions as HCM City and Navibank Sai Gon football clubs have revamped their teams for the new season.

During the last weekend of the 2009 V-League season, the city football witnessed the relegation of two clubs.

Sai Gon United was relegated to the Second Division despite a 2-0 win over Hoa Phat Ha Noi in the last match, and one day later, HCM City also suffered the same fate with a 3-2 defeat by Binh Duong.

There was no escaping the fact that city football had no representative in the 2010 V-League until Navibank Bank surprisingly bought the Military Zone 4 football club. They renamed it Navibank Sai Gon and chose Thong Nhat Stadium as its home ground.

However, Navibank Sai Gon was struggling at the bottom of the table throughout the season.

The club was relegated, but the fact that there were six fewer clubs in the First Division operating as a business handed Navibank a play-off with Quang Ninh. They escaped from relegation with a 2-0 win.

After being demoted to the First Division, HCM City continued its poor performance and had a disappointing season and only until the last round did the club escape from demotion.

Change for better

But the upcoming 2011 V-League season, the so-called professional football season, could be a different story as city-based clubs have made moves to build their teams that not only have survived the relegation but also have enough ability to move into the top half of the ranking.

Navibank splashed out a considerable amount of money on players, bringing in qualified strikers Nguyen Quang Hai from Khanh Hoa, Brazilian-Vietnamese striker Huynh Kesley Alves from Binh Duong and midfielder Luong Van Duoc Em from Dong Thap.

While Hai is the most prolific local striker last season with 13 goals, veteran Huynh Kesley has stamped his authority onto the V-League with his vast experience. Duoc Em was considered a promising young player last season.

"With new players joining the team and good preparation, we will try to finish the 2011 V-League at least in the middle of the table. We hope that the worries over the relegation will not be repeated," said Mai Duc Chung, head coach of Navibank Sai Gon.

By recruiting a foreign coach and bringing in some new faces, HCM City, the successor of the famous Sai Gon Port, has also made its intentions clear that they do not want to be a contender for the relegation in the next nine months.

The club recently signed a contract with Croatian coach Vjeran Simunic and hired Singaporean coach Robert Lim as a technical consultant. They have also recruited foreign players Lima and Cokolic from fellow club TDC Binh Duong.

Coach Simunic said that his team was ready for the new season. He believes the club will not have to face a battle to avoid relegation, as they did last season. VNS

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Yes or no for naturalized players in national squad?

Vietnamese football analyst Nguyen Van Vinh

Photo: Tuoi Tre

In our discussion on whether Vietnam should recruit naturalized foreign footballers for the national team, currently a hot topic after Vietnam’s early exit at Suzuki Cup, respected football analyst Nguyen Van Vinh turns the question on its head.

“Does Malaysia have any naturalized foreign players on its team?” he asked.

“Whatever you do with naturalized players is OK, as long as it is to improve domestic football in Vietnam,” the former coach and technical director of V-League club Hoang Anh Gia Lai told Tuoi Tre.

He added that we could not compare foreign players being granted citizenship in Vietnam with similar stories in other countries.

“The difference is the way and motivation we grant citizenship to them,” Vinh said.

In foreign countries, a player of foreign origin is only given the honor if he or she is well integrated into the local culture and society.

An example, the Germans -- who are much proud of their stock -- introduced their national football squad to the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa in June with 11 players of foreign origin.

They are, however, almost 100 percent Germans before learning to play football, Vinh said, adding that they grow up and rely on professional training in Germany to become talented. As such, they should not raise any eyebrow when given the honor to don the national cap and play for the national team.

In Vietnam, non-native footballers came to Vietnam on a football contract with local clubs and were later awarded citizenship with strong legal support from their clubs.

The reason these clubs wanted to naturalize these foreigners is to evade the local rule capping the number of foreign players on any team at three.

Consequently, admitting naturalized players into the Vietnamese national team cannot help improve the domestic football landscape.

“The national football team of Malaysia include all domestic players, but can still advance to the finals of the ongoing Suzuki Cup,” Vinh said.

The bottom line is, to make the Vietnamese national team stronger relies on well thought-out development plan, not on the use of naturalized players, according to the expert.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

AFF Cup flop needs sober reflection

by Tien Thanh

HCM CITY — Viet Nam's elimination from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup 2010 capped a significantly unsuccessful year for national football in the regional arena.

After scaling euphoric heights by winning the AFF Cup in 2008, Vietnamese football has come down to earth, firmly.

After co-hosting the Asian Cup 2007, Vietnamese football experienced considerable progress, culminating in victory at the AFF Cup two years ago.

The next year was also a positive one as the nation's top-tier V-League saw the emergence of former football star, Le Huynh Duc, as a prospective young coach. Duc led Da Nang to a comprehensive win at the nation's top championship.

Meanwhile, Binh Duong made history by becoming the first Vietnamese football club to reach the semi-finals at a continental level competition, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

And then the national Olympic team (Under 23) put in an impressive performance on their way to the finals of the 25th SEA Games in Laos.

However, the momentum of the previous three years was not carried successfully into 2010.

In the last 12 months, there has been no promising result in competitions both at the club and national team level at regional competitions.

False dawn

After beating Thailand to take the AFF Cup 2008, many fans, experts and even the players themselves seemed to take it for granted that Vietnamese football level has surpassed other countries, especially Malaysia, as local clubs hammered Malaysian counterparts at the AFC Cup.

Star striker Le Cong Vinh, who scored the decisive goal in the final two years ago to help the country win the first AFF Cup, and missed out this year because of injury, had predicted that Viet Nam would reach the final before the semi-final matches.

An Olympic defender had also said that Viet Nam would beat Malaysia while an official of the Ha Noi Football Federation, said that Viet Nam had reached a certain (higher) class as a result of a highly-competitive football championship, V-League and exposure to international competitions.

These people, however, did not take into consideration the role foreign and naturalised players play in the V-League. The success of V-League as well as clubs like Da Nang and Binh Duong at AFC Cup can be significantly attributed to players like Argentina's Gaston Merlo, South African Philani or Brazilian-born Huynh Kesley.

After a wonderful start with a 7-1 demolition of Myanmar, the team seemed to adopt the pride of defending champions, choosing to go on the offensive against all teams.

This strategy failed both times, against the Philippines and Malaysia.

For football fans, the losses were salt rubbed into the wound of the SEA Games defeat against Malaysia in Laos last year.

The defeats have re-ignited the debate about using naturalised players, but if we take the long-term view for the benefit of the national team, it is better to focus on building a really professional football environment and creating more opportunities for talented young local players to improve their skills. — VNS

Friday, December 10, 2010

Fans make record bookings for Kuala Lumpur

HA NOI – Football fans have made record bookings with Vietnam Airlines and AirAsia for flights to Kuala Lumpur to see Viet Nam play Malaysia in the first leg match of the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup next Wednesday.

The tickets, reportedly now sold out, are not cheap.

The return fare with Vietnam Airlines is VND9.5 million (US$475) and $365 with budget carrier, AirAsia.

"Our group began planning to fly to Malaysia to support the national team immediately Viet Nam won into the semi-finals," round, said former The Cong Football Club director Nguyen Hong Thuy.

"It was difficult to get tickets for December 14-15 so we booked a day earlier.

"We knew we would have to pay a high price because it's almost out of date but we will not abandon the team."

The excited fan said her group would carry the national flag, Uncle Ho's portrait, drums, banners and cymbals to the match.

"We will 'paint' the Bukit Jalil Stadium red with our T-shirts and yellow stars," she said.

Major travel agency Viettravel have chartered two aircraft from with a 360 seats total of and are offering return tickets from HCM City for VND8.99 million and VND9.99 million from Ha Noi.

The price includes match entry.

The agent also offers 2-4 day football tours for VND9 million. – VNS

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Vietnam’s U19s win Int’l U21 Football Championship

Vietnam’s U19s win Int’l U21 Football Championship Vietnam’s U19 squad won the 2010 International Under-21 Football Tournament Championship after beating Thailand’s U21s 2-1 in the final match at Ho Chi Minh City’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Sunday.

Though considered the underdogs, the Vietnamese U19s were on equal terms with the Thailand throughout the dramatic final game of the fourth edition of the youth football event sponsored by Thanh Nien newspaper.

The Vietnamese U19s took the lead after five minutes following a mix-up in the Thai penalty area. Hai Huy fired a powerful shot that sailed 16 meters into the goal.

The Thai U21s launched relentless attacks but the Vietnamese players stood firm through the remaining minutes of the first half.

After the break, the Thai players continued attacking and scored an equalizer midway through the second half when the Vietnamese defenders showed clear signs of fatigue.

Vietnam’s goalkeeper Buu Ngoc stopped Hongthong’s shot but failed to catch it, allowing Meesawad to send the rebounding ball to the back of Vietnam’s net.

The Vietnamese defenders continued to make mistakes but either goalkeeper Buu Ngoc mounted a good defense and the Thai strikers proved poor shots.

The young Vietnamese squad didn’t have many chances but they managed to score to make the game 2-1 ten minutes from full time.

With huge contributions, Buu Ngoc won the “best player of the match” award while Nguyen Van Quyet won the tournament’s “best player” and the “Vietnamese most impressive player” awards.

The Vietnamese U19 players won the trophy with a cash prize of US$10,000 and the Thai players took the second place and $7,000.

The Vietnamese U21 team earned the third place after beating the Malaysian U21s and got a cash prize of $5,000. Thailand’s Sokjoho had three goals and was named “best scorer” while Thailand’s goalkeeper Yen Arom was awarded the “tournament’s best goalkeeper” title.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the final match, Nguyen Cong Khe, Chairman of Thanh Nien Media Corporation and chief of the organizing committee said, “Our philosophy at the National and International U21 Tournament, is to honor “Virtue, Intelligence and Talent”. The winning football must be the beautiful, the kind of football that is honest and impressive to the fans. That is our hope for the youth football tournament.

“The organizing committee, Thanh Nien newspaper and Thanh Nien Media Corporation have been trying and will continue to try our best to make this youth football tournament more and more perfect and professional.”

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Strong foreign squads compete at Int’l U.21 contest

The U21 Malaysian squad arrived at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Thursday morning

Four foreign teams will compete with hosts Vietnam at the fourth International Under-21 Football Tournament which kicks off at Ho Chi Minh City’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Saturday, October 23.

The organizers of the Thanh Nien-sponsored nine-day event said that the Singaporeans are the most prominent contenders at the contest.

Nine members of the squad advanced to the semifinals in last year’s competition in Binh Duong.

Five of them competed at the second event in Hue in 2008 and four of them played at the 25th Southeast Asian Games (SEA) in Vientiane last year.

Thailand’s team includes 90 percent of the U19 squad that advanced to the final match of the 2010 SEA U19 event in Ho Chi Minh City in August.

The Thais intend to groom these players to compete at the 26th biennial Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta next year in the U23 category.

After their U23 team’s defeat at Thang Long Cup in HCMC early this month, Malaysia said they do not want to lose face again. Their U21 team coach Ibrahim Ismail said his squad includes seven players who competed last year and three that played at the second contest in Hue in 2008.

After a year off, Myanmar returns to this event with big hopes.

“The Thanh Nien-sponsored International U21 Football Tournament is a great place for us to discover new talent for Myanmar’s team to participate at the ASEAN Football Federation Cup (later this year),” wrote coach Than Htike in a letter sent to the Vietnam Football Federation. “We are in the same group with hosts Vietnam and will play the opener, so we will do our best.”

The Asian Football Confederation said it will send five international referees to the event. They are Lee Dong Jun from South Korea, Krishnan S/O Ramachandran from Malaysia, Xaypasenth Phongsanith from Laos and Thong Chanketya and Doung Sochet from Cambodia.

The three Vietnamese referees at the tournament will be Vo Minh Tri, Chau Duc Thanh and Tran Thanh Liem.

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Photo: Tuoi Tre

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