Coach Henrique Calisto and six players from the Vietnamese national football team were conferred Sunday the Labor Order, Third Class, a state-level honorary badge for their winning the AFF Cup 2008.
The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) bestowed the honor on the Portuguese coach, striker Cong Vinh, half-backs Minh Phuong and Tai Em, midfielders Nhu Thanh and Phuoc Tu, and goalkeeper Hong Son for their winning the AFF Cup back in 2008 (Southeast Asia Football Championship).
VFF attributed the postponement in granting the honor to repeated delays in convening the national team.
At the ceremony in Hanoi, VFF President Nguyen Trong Hy wished the team success in the upcoming ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup, set to kick off on December 1.
In preparation for the tournament, the squad will have a practicing session today to review its formation for the last time. After that, Calisto will remove three players from the current roster to reduce the team to 22 players, the maximum allowed for each team.
