VietNam Culture

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Beckham to see out Galaxy contract, still keen on England

Photo: Reuters

David Beckham plans to see out the final year of his Los Angeles Galaxy contract and still believes he has an England future at the age of 35.

In an interview shown on British television, the midfielder added that he would not have any more loan deals after two spells at AC Milan, where an ankle injury in the second stint forced him out of the reckoning for a place at the World Cup in June.

Beckham's Galaxy contract runs out next year and although there is the option next month of buying out the final 12 months of his deal, he said he was content to stay until 2011.

"I'm definitely going to be here (in Los Angeles) for the rest of my contract," the former Manchester United player said. "My sons go to school here, we're all happy living here, so I can't see us moving."

Turning to his England prospects, he underlined that he had no plans to call time on his 115-cap international career despite manager Fabio Capello suggesting after the World Cup that he was too old to play for his country.

"Of course I would always love to be available for my country, everyone knows how passionate I have been for my country over the years.

"Whether I do or not, that is obviously down to the manager and obviously down to myself to perform.”

"The future is for the young players as we have to think about the (2012) Euros but no one player is out,” he added.

Beckham, who left Real Madrid for Galaxy in 2007, scored for the LA club in the 2-1 win over FC Dallas on Sunday that earned them their second successive Western Conference and the Supporters' Shield for MLS's top point-scoring team.

They now begin their playoff campaign against Seattle Sounders on Sunday.

In the last two seasons, Beckham has returned to Europe for loan spells with Milan to maintain his fitness levels.

He suffered an Achilles tendon injury during his second loan spell in March and only returned to action for the Galaxy in August.

Milan said in July that he would not be returning for a third stint and Beckham now believes that he is unlikely to go out on loan again when the MLS playoffs finish in November.

"I would love to say that I'd be able to but with the injury that I've had you have to give it a certain amount of rest," he added.

Vietnam football chief dissatisfies local transfer window

Vietnam Football Federation chairman Nguyen Trong Hy

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) chairman Nguyen Trong Hy said the transfer price of local footballers is getting far beyond their actual values and thus it is bringing about bad effect to the national football development.

He labeled the local transfer window is almost in a chaos as clubs are chasing to sign qualified players at high-sky price when the new season will loom on January 22.

Hy agrees with Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC owner Doan Nguyen Duc that no Vietnamese player is worth over VND5 billion (US$256,000). But Cong Vinh, 25, of T&T Hanoi is priced VND20 billion (over $1 million). Navibank Saigon signed striker Quang Hai at the price of VND10 billion ($513,000). Minh Phuong also moved to SHB Danang for VND7 billion ($359,000).

With well-trained footballers under their age of 23 becoming a really scarce commodity, clubs have to accept the escalating price to have enough 25 players to register for the new season.

The rarity of young players is rooted from the fact that most of 14 clubs at the Vietnam’s premier league, V-League, have yet developed own policy for youth training -- excluding some clubs as Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Dong Thap, and Song Lam Nghe An.

And the hunt of young player has even become harsher for clubs when the Vietnam’s football governing body VFF has recently ruled that each club must register at least five under-23 players and a maximum of five foreign athletes.

The increasing price of player should be an encouraging factor if it reflects their real values, Hy noted.

It is not now in Vietnam, he added.

Teenagers take plunge at Asian Games

Teenage trio Nguyen Hoang Thien, Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen and Hoang Quy
Phuoc will make their debut at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China next
month.

Swimmers Phuoc and Tuyen, two of Vietnam's top swimmers, have been
training in China in preparation for the biggest sporting event in Asia.

Prodigy Phuoc, 17, from Da Nang has sustained the
form that helped him win a 100m butterfly bronze medal in the Southeast
Asian Games in Laos last year with a time of 55.65sec.

"Phuoc has rapidly perfected his skills in training. He has knocked
his personal best time down to 54.71sec in his favourite 100m butterfly
event," said Nguyen Dang Ha, who coaches Phuoc at the national sports
camp No 3 in Da Nang.

"However, the Asian Games will
be tough for Phuoc as he will face top stars from China, Japan and the
Republic of Korea. I believe he will give a lifetime best performance at
the Guangzhou Asian Games," Ha added.

The Da Nang-born swimmer has an arm span of 1.98m, which helps him move quickly through the water.

Meanwhile, Tuyen, 16, from HCM City also triumphed in the national
championships last year bagging 10 gold medals and breaking eight
records.

"She is one of Vietnam's most talented
swimmers. She wins gold almost every time she gets into the water at the
national championships. Tuyen is capable of competing in the freestyle,
butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and medley relay," said the general
secretary of the Vietnam Aquatic Sport Association, Dinh Viet Hung.

"But Tuyen needs more competitions and tests before the Asian Games. A
lack of big games experience against strong opposition is her Achilles'
heel but I hope she overcomes that at the Games that start in two weeks
time," Hung said.

The swimming events, with 38 medal sets up for grabs, will be held from November 13-18.

Nguyen Hoang Thien, 15, recently won two International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior single's titles in a fortnight.

Thien triumphed in the boy's singles at the International Junior
Championships in Bac Lieu southern province, just a week before cruising
to victory at the Vietnam International Junior Championships in Binh
Duong.

He has climbed from 497th in the ITF junior
rankings to 338th since last year, and he's looking to break into the
top 200 in the world by the time he's 18.

"It's the
first time he has been called to the national team to compete at the
Asian Games, but I'm not worried because he has already experienced
numerous international competitions," said Thien's father, Nguyen Hoang
Minh.

"He still has his eye on ITF tournaments to
boost his world ranking, which hopefully will enable him to compete at a
Grand Slam someday," Minh said.

Thien is expected to play one more tournament before flying to Guangzhou.

The tennis event will take place from November 13-23.

Vietnam has announced a 260-member squad to compete in 29 of the 42
events at the 16th festival from November 12-27. Vietnam hopes to finish
in the top 15 out of the 45 participating countries and territories./.

Fashion show set to wow audiences

One of the most anticipated fashion events of the year, Dep Fashion Show (DFS), will take place in Hanoi on Oct. 30.

Entitled Dreaming, the one-night event will not simply be a fashion
show, but incorporate a large-scale performance combining different
contemporary art forms, including dancing, acrobatics, installation and
visual art.

"DFS has built up its own reputation
through eight previous shows, which gathered not only talented
designers, but also leading directors, artists and models," said DFS's
general director, famous choreographer Le Vu Long.

The show will showcase collections by four designers.

"With the theme of Dreaming, each designer will express their own
individual dream, thus partly presenting a ‘common dream' of the society
to which they belong," Long said.

The idea of other
planets in the universe together with extra-terrestrial life inspired
Hanoi-based designer Kelly Bui's The Gioi Sieu Tuong (Surrealistic
World) collection.

Expressing femininity with silk
and satin details, the collection Mo (Dreaming) by HCM City-based
designer Hoang Ngan tells the romantic love story of a girl.

The only foreign designer at the show, Juliane Kunze, will present her
collection Du Muc (Nomad). The nomadic life of the Roman people,
passionate flamenco dances and the dramatic gesticulations of matadors
inspired the German designer's creations.

Budapest-based overseas Vietnamese designer Luu Anh Tuan, who is
regarded as a phenomenon of Hungarian fashion, will also join other
designers to introduce his collection.

Graduated
from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest, Tuan was
awarded the ‘Young Designer of the Year' by the Hungarian Fashion
Designers Association in 2008. His creations, which are of a significant
and constructive geometric shape, have been presented in Budapest, New
York, Prague, Helsinki, Berlin, and London. His unique designs also
appeared in various famous fashion magazines, including Glamour, Marie
Claire, InStyle, and Elle.

His Cau Chuyen Ke
(Telling Story) collection for Dep Fashion Show is a combination of
modern western features and traditional oriental shapes. The collection
consists mainly of Asian materials such as hand-woven satin and silk
velvet.

The show is expected to be a visual banquet
with artists including musician Tri Minh, choreographers Tran Thanh Nam,
Do Hoang Thu Ngoc, Quach Hoang Diep, acrobat Ngo Le Thang, and visual
artist Nguyen The Hung.

Around 60 models will take the stage on Oct. 30.

In order to offer people a chance to learn more about the show, an
exhibition showcasing sketches and completed creations is slated to open
on Oct.26 at The Garden Building in Tu Liem district.

The exhibition, which runs until Oct.29, will also present creations
by eight young promising designers from the London Centre for Fashion
Studies in Hanoi.

Visitors to the exhibition will
also have a chance to get a back stage peek at what goes on behind the
scenes for the first time.

Coorganised by Dep
(Beauty) magazine, Le Media and Le Bros, the DFS will start at 8pm at
The Garden Building, Me Tri Road, Tu Liem district, Hanoi on Oct. 30./.

Teenagers take the plunge

Making a splash: Swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc is among the several Vietnamese competitors making their debut at Asia's biggest sports event, the Asian Games, in Guangzhou, China next month. — File Photo

HA NOI — Teenage trio Nguyen Hoang Thien, Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen and Hoang Quy Phuoc will make their debut at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China next month.

Swimmers Phuoc and Tuyen, two of Viet Nam's top swimmers, have been training in China in preparation for the biggest sporting event in Asia.

Prodigy Phuoc,17, from Da Nang has sustained the form that helped him win a 100m butterfly bronze medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Laos last year with a time of 55.65sec.

"Phuoc has rapidly perfected his skills in training. He has knocked his personal best time down to 54.71sec in his favourite 100m butterfly event," said Nguyen Dang Ha, who coaches Phuoc at the national sports camp No 3 in Da Nang.

"However, the Asian Games will be tough for Phuoc as he will face top stars from China, Japan and South Korea. I believe he will give a lifetime best performance at the Guangzhou Asian Games," Ha added.

The Da Nang-born swimmer has an arm span of 1.98m, which helps him move quickly through the water.

Meanwhile, Tuyen, 16, from HCM City also triumphed in the national championships last year bagging 10 gold medals and breaking eight records.

"She is one of Viet Nam's most talented swimmers. She wins gold almost every time she gets into the water at the national championships. Tuyen is capable of competing in the freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and medley relay," said the general secretary of the Viet Nam Aquatic Sport Association, Dinh Viet Hung.

"But Tuyen needs more competitions and tests before the Asian Games. A lack of big games experience against strong opposition is her Achilles' heel but I hope she overcomes that at the Games that start in two weeks time," Hung said.

The swimming events, with 38 medal sets up for grabs, will be held from November 13-18.

Nguyen Hoang Thien, 15, recently won two International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior single's titles in a fortnight.

Thien triumphed in the boy's singles at the International Junior Championships in southern Bac Lieu Province, just a week before cruising to victory at the Viet Nam International Junior Championships in Binh Duong.

He has climbed from 497th in the ITF junior rankings to 338th since last year, and he's looking to break into the top 200 in the world by the time he's 18.

"It's the first time he has been called to the national team to compete at the Asian Games, but I'm not worried because he has already experienced numerous international competitions," said Thien's father, Nguyen Hoang Minh.

"He still has his eye on ITF tournaments to boost his world ranking, which hopefully will enable him to compete at a Grand Slam someday," Minh said.

Thien is expected to play one more tournament before flying to Guangzhou.

The tennis event will take place from November 13-23.

Viet Nam announced its 260-member squad ago to compete in 29 of the 42 events at the 16th festival from November 12-27. Viet Nam hopes to finish in the top 15 out of the 45 participating countries and territories. — VNS

Hanoi model wins Miss Vietnam 2010

Hosts Vietnam thrash Myanmar at int’l U21 contest

Hosts Vietnam thrash Myanmar at int’l U21 contest Hosts Vietnam beat Myanmar 5-1 in their opening match at the fourth edition of the Thanh Nien-sponsored International U21 Football Tournament at HCMC’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Saturday.

The big win has brought the national U21 squad closer to a semifinal berth. There are only three teams in each group and the best two will advance to the semifinals.

However, things were not easy for the hosts as the score suggests. They took the lead after nine minutes, but the Myanmarese players fought back and scored an equalizer 20 minutes later, with Pyaye Phyo pouncing on an opportunity to get one past Vietnamese goalkeeper Thanh Diep.

Stung by the underdogs, the Vietnamese players began applying more pressure on their rival’s defense with fast attacks. These efforts only paid off about midway through the second half when Myanmar started making mistakes.

First, defenders tackled Trong Phi in the penalty area, and Huu Phat scored from the spot to make it 2-1 for Vietnam.

This opened the gate for more scoring chances, three of which were taken.

Speaking after the match, Myanmar’s U21 team coach Than Htike said, “The Vietnamese players were stronger. We tried our best but couldn’t avoid conceding the goals.

“We will try harder in our next game against Thailand to leave a good impression on Vietnamese football fans.”

Vietnam’s U21 team coach Dinh Van Dung praised his players for their performance. “After this win, we will play even better in the clash with Thailand,” Dung said.

At this year’s event, four U21 teams from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar are competing against Vietnam’s U21 and U19 teams.

In the other group, Singapore and Malaysia fought to a 1-1 draw in their opening match on Saturday.

Monday, October 25, 2010