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| Olympic Vietnam before Bach Viet Cup (Photo: VFF). |
Three opponents of Vietnam
Indonesia are familiar opponents of Vietnamese football at Southeast Asian competitions. Competing at the Bach Viet Cup are the national team of Indonesia. Coach Peter Withe explained because the Indonesian Olympic team were preparing for the Asian Games and training in Doha, Qatar, the national team, featured by currently best players of Indonesia, joined the Bach Viet Cup. Among 24 players called up for the Bach Viet Cup, there are seven players registered for the match against Vietnam at the 2004 Tiger Cup. Four of them started the game, in which Indonesia beat Vietnam 3-0 in the My Dinh national stadium.
Before attending the Bach Viet Cup, the Indonesian team finished runners-up at the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia in August. They had a training tour in China, playing friendlies with four clubs from the Chinese league in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Guangdong.
On November 11, they beat Singapore 2-1 in a friendly before leaving for Ho Chi Minh City to compete at the Bach Viet Cup. Mr Withe said he was confident that his team would win the Bach Viet Cup.
Two other teams, Olympic Finland and Olympic Cameroon, remain unknown.
According to Sami Terava, spokesman of the Olympic team of Finland, his team consists of seven players competing at the recently ended European under-21 championship and under-23 players, who played in two defeats to Russia and Hungary in the qualifying round of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. However, some of best players are absent as they have to play for their clubs in Norway, Sweden and Italy. However, Mr Terava said, as Olympic Finland considered the tournament a serious test for young players, who would be introduced to the senior team, the players had to produce their best performance.
Like Olympic Finland, Olympic Cameroon are ‘strangers’ to Vietnamese football. What is clear about the team is they have made a good preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games qualifying round. Before arriving in Ho Chi Minh City and played a friendly in China with and lost 1-0 to the hosts.
When the team, consisting of 20 players and six coaches, arrived at the Tan Son Nhat airport, coach Martin Felix said his team wanted to win the Bach Viet Cup.
Test for young players
Before the Agribank Cup, the coaching board of the Vietnamese side had stated the Olympic team would join the Bach Viet Cup in Ho Chi Minh City from November 15-19.
Coach Alfred Riedl said he wanted young players would take the opportunity to prove their ability.
Young players coach Riedl mentioned about are Minh Chuyen, Thanh Binh and goalkeeper Vinh Loi, who may make regular appearance during the tournament.
The absence of Minh Phuong will pave the way for young playmaker Minh Chuyen. The young midfielder had a successful tournament with the Olympic team at the Capital SH Bank Cup with a goal and assists for his teammates. However, during the Agribank Cup, Minh Chuyen started games on bench. Now, it is a real opportunity for him to win a position in Mr Riedl’s starting XI.
Also, striker Thanh Binh, who is still struggling to find his super form, which helped the Vietnamese team win the 2005 Agribank Cup and gain a good result at the VTV-T&T Cup, will return to replace injured Anh Duc. One year ago, Thanh Binh was an automated choice of Mr Riedl for the forward line of the Vietnamese team. However, the 20-year-old player from Dong Thap has not been on his very top form these days. He seemed to look the shadow of the striker that inspired the Vietnamese team’s victory in the My Dinh stadium one year ago. What Thanh Binh needs now is a goal to help him get rid of heavy pressure and end his goal drought.
Young goalkeeper Vinh Loi, who made two blunders in the final game of the Agribank Cup with Thailand, costing the host the tournament title, will have another tough test before debuting at the Asian Games. Despite his mistakes, Vinh Loi is now the first choice in goalkeeping of the Olympic team. His problem is how to overcome pressure of big game. In general, the goalkeeper had played well when he replaced injured Quang Huy at the Agribank Cup, before the mistakes he made due to a lack of experience for international competitions.
Coach Riedl told the local press that his team wanted to win the tournament. To that end, his men should improve their finishing effectiveness. During the Agribank Cup, his team wasted many chances.
The hosts will start the tournament with a game against Olympic Finland in Ho Chi Minh City this afternoon. Home spectators expect Mr Riedl’s men will make a good start with a victory.
Ngoc Tuan Source: Nhan Dan
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