Top players await Golden Ball result

Fan favourite: Former national team captain Nguyen Minh Phuong (right) plays in a friendly at Ha Noi's My Dinh National Stadium. — VNS Photo Quang Thang

HA NOI — More than 100 sports journalists, coaches and experts have cast their votes for their favourite men's and women's footballers in the prestigious Golden Ball contest. The outcome will be announced next week.

The vote, organised by Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper, is to select the best from a list of 29 candidates who also include young and foreign footballers.

V-League two-time champions Becamex Binh Duong dominate the list with three candidates – Nguyen Anh Duc, Nguyen Vu Phong and Huynh Quang Thanh.

Dong Tam Long An follow with two key players Phan Van Tai Em and Nguyen Minh Phuong.

On the women's list, announced by the organising committee on Tuesday, six Ha Noi players who helped the national team win the Southeast Asian Games in Laos for the fourth time are included.

Ha Minh Tuan of Da Nang and Nguyen Van Quyet of Viettel are promising candidates for the best young players of the year.

Argentinean goal poacher Gaston Merlo, the best striker in the national football V-League championship twice in a row, will face stronger competition from Brazilian Leandro De Oliveira, who moved to Binh Duong after a three-year contract with Hai Phong, Antonio Carlos of Dong Tam Long An, South African Kubheka Philam from Binh Duong and Nigerian Samson Kayode from Dong Thap.

Merlo, who helped Da Nang win the V-League title in 2009, won Best Foreign Player in the vote last year.

Last year, young playmaker Pham Thanh Luong from Ha Noi ACB won the men's Golden Ball, while HCM City's Doan Thi Kim Chi clinched the women's title for the fourth time

Striker Le Cong Vinh from Ha Noi T&T and former national forward Le Huynh Duc, who now coaches Da Nang, both won the Golden Ball three times in a row.

The new winners will be announced at an award ceremony in HCM City on March 28. — VNS

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Vietnam confident ahead of showdown with Malaysia

HCMC – The Vietnamese national football team is confident ahead of the first leg semifinals game against Malaysia in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 at Bukit Jalil Stadium, Malaysia on Wednesday though many key team members won’t be playing.

Head coach Henrique Calisto said he was pleased with his players for securing the semifinals berth and believed they would beat Malaysia.

Calisto told the media that injuries had forced his team to make many important changes with Nguyen Huy Hoang, Nguyen Minh Chau and Tran Dinh Dong making their debut in the game.

Veteran player, Hoang will replace halfback Huynh Quang Thanh, who suffered an ankle injury in the match against Singapore, while Tran Dinh Dong will replace Doan Viet Cuong and Nguyen Minh Chau will replace Phan Van Tai Em.

Defender Doan Viet Cuong and midfielder Phan Van Tai Em remained doubtful for the game in Malaysia as neither player could train on Sunday. Viet Cuong, who showed a good performance against Singapore despite being injured, has still to fully recover while his teammate Tai Em is also suffering from a knee injury.

Vietnam also lost midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang, who played well in the qualifying round in Vietnam. Hoang has been suspended after being given a red card in the game against Singapore last Wednesday.

However, striker Nguyen Viet Thang, who has recovered from an injury, may be returning to join strikers Nguyen Anh Duc and Le Sy Manh. Thang, a first-choice striker of head coach Calisto, was not on the list made at the beginning of the tournament.

The Portuguese coach remains optimistic about the fitness of goal keeper Bui Tan Truong, midfielders Nguyen Vu Phong and Pham Thanh Luong, captain Nguyen Minh Phuong who all played well in the qualifying round.

The Vietnamese side reached the semifinals as they finished as Group B leaders with six points ahead of runners-up Philippines, who collected five points. Vietnam crushed Myanmar 7-1 in the opener, and then lost 0-2 to Philippines and had a 1-0 win over archrivals Singapore in their final group stage game. 

Meanwhile, hosts Indonesia came through the group stage unbeaten to top Group A while Malaysia were the runners-up in the group. Malaysia earned four points   after losing 1-5 to Indonesia, drawing 0-0 with Thailand and earning 5-1 win over Laos in their group stage.

The 2010 ASEAN Football Federation Cup, also called AFF Suzuki Cup 2010, is co-hosted by Vietnam and Indonesia and attended by eight countries in the region - Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos.

The semifinals are set for December 15, 16, 28 and 19 on a home and away basis. The two legs for the finals will be on December 26 and 29 also on a home and away basis.

The other semi-final between host Indonesia and the Philippines will be played on Thursday and Sunday at the Geloga Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.

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