Vietnam’s Viettel will play off against Malaysia in the opening match of
the fifth annual Yamaha ASEAN under 13 Cup at the My Dinh National
Stadium in Hanoi on October 4.
After
four attempts, Vietnam only triumphed once in the annual competition
when SHB Da Nang had chance to play on home turf in 2008.
This year, national champions SLNA (Song Lam Nghe An) are carrying the
burden to take the title for Vietnam, they will play in the second match
of the youth championship against the defending champions Thailand.
“We will take part in the tournament with the same team who won the
national title. We will try our best to have a strong result and even do
our best to win,” SLNA coach Dau Minh Tam told Vietnam News.
SLNA’s three players who performed outstandingly at the July’s national
tournament are expected to be key contributors to their team’s success.
Midfielder Ta Quoc Tien was voted the
championship’s best player. Striker Luong Van Hung grabed the title of
best scorer and Ho Viet Dai best goalkeeper.
Tam said he would go to see the Thai players training this morning come
away with a suitable game plan. “We have no information about our
rivals, Thailand, but I saw them today. They are under 13 but really big
and tall, much more so than my players who are considered the smallest
among all the athletes,” he said.
This
year’s host team Viettel, silver medalists in the national championship,
losing 1-2 to SLNA in the final – their only loss at the event, intend
to get to the final match and win the cup this time round.
“I have called some players to strengthen the current team. Some
intensive training plans have been added to their training routine since
we received the invitation a month ago,” said coach Nguyen Thang Long
of Viettel.
“My players are still kids
so we do not give them any targets which might make them experience
undue stress or pressure. I think it is a chance for them to gain
experience for their future football career, although of course in any
competition we all want best result,” he said.
According to national coach Hoang Van Phuc, Viettel is considered to be
one of the best football clubs in Vietnam, with their squad enjoying
the benefits of modern equipment, methodical training and a strict
military like discipline, he said.
With
six participants divided into two groups they will compete in a
round-robin format with the two top teams advancing to the semi-final
round. A group of six Japanese international referees have been invited
to judge the matches.-VNA
The opening ceremony and opening match will be aired live on television and the final will be played on October 6.