BTV Cup 2009 Results

Group A:
20/11
Xi Mang Hai Phong vs MFK Petrzalka: 0-0
Binh Duong vs Chongqing Lifan: 2-1

22/11
MFK Petrzalka vs Chongqing Lifan: 1-3
Binh Duong vs Xi Mang Hai Phong: 0-1

24/11
Xi Mang Hai Phong vs Chongqing Lifan: 1-0
Binh Duong vs MFK Petrzalka: 3-2

Final standings:
1. XM Hai Phong
2. Binh Duong
3. Chongqing Lifan
4. MFK Petrzalka

Group B:
21/11
SHB Da Nang vs Kampala City: 2-4
GDT Long An vs Duque de Caxias: 0-3

23/11
Duque de Caxias vs Kampala City: 1-0
SHB Da Nang vs GDT Long An: 2-2

25/11
Duque de Caxias vs SHB Da Nang: 2-1
GDT Long An vs Kampala City: 1-0

Standings:
1. Duque de Caxias
2. GDT Long An
3. Kampala City
4. SHB Da Nang

Semi-finals:
XM Hai Phong vs GDT Long An: 1-1 (8-9 pens.)
Duque de Caxias vs Binh Duong: 3-0

Third place:
Binh Duong vs XM Hai Phong: 1-3

Final:
Duque de Caxias vs GDT Long An: 2-1

Duque de Caxias won BTV Cup 2009!

Big Vietnamese clubs target Lee Nguyen

Binh Duong, SHB Da Nang and Xi Mang Hai Phong are in war for signature of Lee Nguyen after this USA-Vietnamese midfielder was released by Hoang Anh Gia Lai on November 27th.

Binh Duong and SHB Da Nang are two best clubs in Vietnam and both have qualified for continental competitions next season. Lee Nguyen would be a great addition for any side as it's quite hard to find a quality attacking-midfielder in V-League.

Xi Mang Hai Phong is a different case. Personally I don't understand why they are in this while they already have three good midfielders who play at the same position as Lee Nguyen. Especially Leandro and Aniekan Ekpe are brilliant players. Perhaps they just want to make some noise like what they did with Denilson.

In Hai Phong, Leandro is King

Darby predicts Thailand v Vietnam final in Vientiane

Thailand's SEA Games coach Steve Darby predicts that his men will meet Vietnam in the final in the biennial event in Laos.

Thailand will meet Vietnam, Malaysia, East Timor and Cambodia in the first round. The top two teams advance to the semi-finals and the football tournament kicks off next week.

Darby said yesterday Vietnam and Malaysia are strong sides but he believes Thailand and Vietnam will progress past the first round.

"Vietnam have made fast progress and I think we will meet them in the final," said the English coach.

Thailand, who are eight-time defending champions, will leave for Laos tomorrow. They will kick off their campaign against Vietnam on Dec 2.

Bangkok Post

7 naturalized players plan to take VFF to court

Seven Vietnamese naturalized players including:

Dinh Hoang La and Dinh Hoang Max (Vissai Ninh Binh)
Doan Van Sakda and Doan Van Nirut (HAGL)
Tran Le Martin and Phan Le Isaac (Hoa Phat Ha Noi)
Phan Van Santos (GDT Long An)

are planning to bring the issue to court if VFF decides to make its new V-League rule official. Their lawyers believe the new rule would be a violation of civil rights and they are ready to bring the case to civil court and FIFA as well. However they are still waiting for a response from VFF and always looking to settle down.

If the case happens, VFF will not have much chance to win and Vietnam football could face an international ban from FIFA.

Datsakorn Thonglao returns to Thailand ?

According to this, Datsakorn Thonglao, the 26 year old captain of the Thai National Team has turned down the opportunity to extend his contract with the Vietnamese team, Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Instead he has decided to return home to Thailand and take up the offer of joining Muang Thong United for next season’s bid to defend the Premiership. He will sign a 2 year contract with the Muang Thong United club on the 1st of January 2010. One of the main reasons for his decision to return to Thailand is to be back with his daughter and family.

It seems everybody is leaving HAGL. Phan Thanh Binh, Lee Nguyen and now Thonglao ?

Vietnam U23 squad for SEA Games 25

Goalkeepers: Tan Truong (Dong Thap), Khoa Dien (Ho Chi Minh City FC).

Defenders: Xuan Hop (Thanh Hoa), Minh Duc (Viettel FC), Dai Dong (T&T Ha Noi), Long Giang (Tien Giang), Hoang Quang (SHB Da Nang), Ngoc Anh (Nam Dinh), Dinh Dong (SLNA).

Midfielders: Trong Hoang (SLNA), Van Binh (SLNA), Cong Minh (SLNA), Thai Duong (HAGL), Thanh Luong (Ha Noi ACB), Thanh Hung (SHB Da Nang), Quy Suu (Dong Thap), Tien Thanh (Ninh Binh), Danh Ngoc (Nam Dinh).

Forwards: Thanh Binh (GDT Long An), Dinh Tung (Thanh Hoa), Manh Dung (Nam Dinh), Ngoc Anh (SLNA).

From Lee Nguyen to his fans in Vietnam

These are some words Lee Nguyen shared on his official page about the break-up with HAGL

Hey guys hope you wont dont be disappointed in me ,the paper in VN iis Wrong about the break up ... the real reason why I didnt come back to Ham Rong/HAGL was because we had a re-contract negotiation and it didnt work out. I had alot of interest in other teams in Vietnam and elsewhere, HAGL couldnt agree to my terms of what other teams were willing to match so thats the reason for not coming back and the MAIN other reason was, I wanted to get back on my National Team and play for my country so thats the main reason for the break-up beacause I wasnt going to be seen by my USA team if I was to stay with HAGL... I Hope you guys understand didnt want you guys to feel like I was letting yall down but steps needed to be made and promises werent kept so thats how it ended.

Sorry to All MY Fans IN VIETNAM you guys are the BEST Though and wanted to let Yall know that this year it was so Amazing and so Blessed to Play in front of Yall and Always supporting me even if I wasnt on your favorite team .. I hope you guys understand.. and

Thank You To All My VN Fans for the Best Season
U guys R AWESOME

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=181863794254&id=187750345943
(you need to log in to read)

Where's Lee Nguyen ?

Lee Nguyen hasn't come back to HAGL yet despite the truth that his holiday was supposed to be over 1 month ago. His undisciplined behavior was not taken lightly by HAGL president Doan Nguyen Duc. And the latest news is Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) is going to terminate his contract right when the overseas Vietnamese star comes back to Vietnam.

Where is Lee Nguyen now ? Take a look at Lee Nguyen's interview with an American website on November 17th.

So, he's training with FC Dallas and he doesn't leave out any option. He may come back to Vietnam to play for HAGL (or another Vietnamese club) or try his luck in Europe again or simply stay at USA and join a MLS side. Let's wait and see.

Navibank Sai Gon sign three strikers

Raphael

Navibank Sai Gon has just completed the transfer of Raphael (SHB Da Nang) and renewed Moses's contract after his Quan Khu 4 contract has just expired. The other one is young Nigerian striker Timothy Anjembe, who was a hot name on transfer market.

VFF is a joke

VFF has just decided that each team can field only one naturalized player in a V-league 2010 match. Fans are angry while many clubs are strongly against this ridiculous decision. They believe all Vietnamese players must have equal rights of playing football and this decision seriously violates the law. Some media brands have voiced their disagreement on this matter. If these clubs bring the case to CAS, not sure what will happen to VFF.

Fans call this decision "pure discrimination", "stupid and conservative". Most of them also want naturalized players back for Vietnam national team after Vietnam's poor results in Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier. I heard some are planning on a demonstration.

Cong Vinh out, Vietnam hold Syria to draw

Syria v Vietnam: 0-0



Vietnam was the second-best throughout the game. Syria attack forced Vietnamese players to stay deeply in their ground. Nevertheless Vietnam had the best chance to win this game as Quang Hai found himself in a perfect space in front of Syria goalkeeper but his unbelievable miss at a very close range disappointed everyone.

Cong Vinh ended his disappointing performances with a red card today. It was his second red card in 3 matches. Not much pride for Le Cong Vinh, who is considered best Vietnamese player for recent years. Plus his arrogant comments about his Portuguese time prior to two Syria matches. I wonder if Calisto should consider putting him on the bench in upcoming matches. He's got talent but he needs to play football on earth.

On other side, Vietnam U23 goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong deserved all the praises in this match. He played well, successfully dealing with high balls which were Syria main attacking plan today. He should be given more chances with the national team and I think many fans agree that he would be number-one choice for Vietnam national team in near future.

Watch Syria vs Vietnam live

Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier:
Syria vs Vietnam
Time: 19h00 (GMT+7)

In Vietnam, it's available on VTC3 and VTC-HD3.

You can also watch it live on bet365.com
1. Sign up an account (it's free).
2.Log in and go to http://www.bet365.com/home/
3. Click Live Streaming.
4. A new window pops up, select Syria v Vietnam match.

Some images from BIDC Cup 2009

These images are taken from Andy's blog and Cambodia Football Roubroum

Doan Van Sakda (HAGL)

Evaldo (HAGL) won Top Goal Scorer Award

Hoang Anh Gia Lai

Cambodia U23 won BIDC Cup 2009

Dinh Hoang Max

"Van der La" and Andy
(La should have been with Vietnam NT at that time)

Laos U23

Vissai Ninh Binh

Vietnam U23 players to play the second-leg

Vietnam national team squad for the away match against Syria will be without Duong Hong Son, Nguyen Minh Phuong, Le Tan Tai, Tran Duy Quang, Tran Trong Binh, Dao Van Phong, Tran Dinh Dong and Bui Quang Huy. Calisto also moved goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong from U23 squad to the senior team. He is 188cm in height and is able to deal with high balls quite well. He may be best choice for Vietnam against taller Syria strikers as the first-leg only goal was scored from a header. Duong Hong Son is a fantastic shot-stopper but high balls are his nightmare.



So in a total of 18 players selected, half of them are U23 players. Calisto will put his faith on young players who has just won VFF Cup for a tough test in Syria. When Vietnam have nothing left to lose, can they make a miracle in Syria ?

BREAK-TIME: Koki Mizuno vs Vietnam U22

An interesting video about young winger Koki Mizuno in Olympic 2008 Qualifier: Japan U22 vs Vietnam U22 in Japan. The final score was 1-0 win for the host. Vietnam U23 of 2007 was also the best Vietnam U23 side ever.

I don't know when Vietnam will have a winger as good as Mizuno. I don't even see any true winger in Vietnam nation team at the moment. Vu Phong, Cong Vinh, Thanh Luong or Tan Tai ? No, no one. None of them can play like a typical winger who can beat full-backs and make a good cross.

When I watched this video, the only one I thought of is Huynh Quoc Anh, a brilliant player. The first time I saw him playing was in 2005. He was truly a young and rare talent then. Now he is still playing quite well for SHB Da Nang. As his international ban has been lifted lately, I think Calisto should give him a chance. I miss the way he embarrassed those defenders and his crosses as well.



I heard some Japanese fans say Koki Mizuno is too light. Not sure what they will think about our Thanh Luong or Vu Phong. lol

Vietnam lost at last second

Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier:

Vietnam vs Syria: 0-1 FT

The match was pretty even. Not many real chances were created. When everyone expected a goalless draw, Syria scored the only goal with a close-range free header from a free-kick at 94th minutes.
Generally, Vietnam didn't play at its best in this match. After this defeat, Vietnam's chance for a place in Asian Cup 2011 is really slight.

Cong Vinh (9) had a very disappointing game

Syria attack caused some trouble for Vietnam

Tan Tai was best Vietnam player tonight

The only goal was scored from a header

Calisto not pleased with referee about his decision

Syria had a deserved victory

Watch Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier: Vietnam vs Syria live

Vietnam vs Syria
My Dinh Stadium, Hanoi
Time: 19h00 (GMT+7)

The match will be broadcast live on VTV2:
http://itv.xem24h.org/?p=80
http://tivitructuyen.net/vtv2.htm
vtc.com.vn (then select VTV2 from list)

and on VTV4:
http://itv.xem24h.org/?p=89
http://tivitructuyen.net/vtv4.htm
vtc.com.vn (then select VTV4 from list)
VTV4 can be watched outside Vietnam via satellite as well.

Overseas Vietnamese player train with Vietnam squad again !

Julian Crasbercu

French player Julien Crasbercu, whose parents are Vietnamese, was permitted to take part in a training match of Vietnam national team yesterday afternoon by Henrique Calisto. 22-year-old player Julien had written a letter to VFF and Calisto about his wish to contribute himself to Vietnam football and Vietnam national team if possible. His desire is to take Vietnamese citizenship and join a V-League side.



As far as I know, his former club is Agen SU which plays in Championnat de France amateur 2 (the 5th highest league in French football). It means he will have to try a lot to impress Vietnamese clubs because I believe the level of V-League is approximately equal to the level of Championnat National (the 3rd highest French league).

By the way, I have some thoughts on the role of VFF in the matter of overseas Vietnamese players. Prior to Julien Crasbercu, some overseas Vietnamese players like Ludovic Cassete or best Poland U19 player Toni Le Hoang have come to try their luck with Vietnam football. All they have to do is to contact VFF, express their wish and wait until VFF can hold a perfunctory presentation to the national team. It's always the NATIONAL TEAM regardless of whether they are good enough or not. All players coming through this way were surplus to requirements or had too little time to show themselves.

Toni Le Hoang came to Vietnam under enormous expectation and was shocked enough to retire at 19!

In my opinion, VFF was too passive and irresponsible in this matter. There are some good overseas Vietnamese players who surely will get a warm welcome by Vietnamese fans but VFF has done nothing to attract them to contribute to Vietnam football. All they do is waiting for some overseas emails and keep waiting. VFF need to be more active on this. For instance, VFF should send scouts to judge ability of players right at where they are playing football before convincing them to play for Vietnam NT or Vietnam youth squad. It would be much better than giving a brief trial to some unemployed amateurs with the national team. (More about overseas Vietnames players here)

Irfan Bachdim and Sergio van Dijk

Not only in Vietnam, some other Southeast Asia countries also have good overseas players like Titus James (Malaysia), Peter Lang (Thailand) or Sergio van Dijk, Irfan Bachdim (Indonesia) but most of them (except Peter Lang) are somehow ignored by their FAs.

Lee Nguyen at PSV Eindhoven

Lee Nguyen, best overseas Vietnamese player so far, is cap-tied to USA and although he had little chance to be selected in USA squad, he is no longer available for Vietnam NT. Another case is young striker Emil Le Giang. If he keeps improving and VFF keeps doing nothing, he will be soon called up to Slovakia national team. Then nothing more to talk about.

BTV Cup 2009 Group Draw

Group A: Becamex Binh Duong, XM Hai Phong, MFK Petrzalka (Slovakia) and Chongqing Lifan (China).

Group B: SHB Da Nang, GDT Long An, Duque De Caxias (Brazil) and Kampala City (Uganda).

Host Binh Duong will play this tournament without its best players. Gaston Molina, Egbo Osita and Philani Kubhekha have been given a holiday while Vu Phong and Quang Thanh are currently with Vietnam national team. Nevertheless, Binh Duong fans will welcome the return of Kesley Alves.

First Macedonia international player in V-League

Filip Madzovski, who has earned 4 caps with Macedonia national team, has just signed a contract with GDT Long An. He is 25 years old and 185 cm in height. His former club is FK Vardar, one of top Macedonian clubs. The wave of players from countries of former Yugoslavia has been up recently as a lot of them can be seen playing in football leagues of South Korea, China and Singapore.



During recent Binh Dien Cup 2009, Filip Madzovski was named in the first squad and played extremely well. GDT Long An lifted the cup while Filip Madzovski won Best Goalkeeper Award.



The sudden appearance of Filip Madzovski took a lot of people by surprise because at GDT Long An, famous naturalized goalkeeper Fabio dos Santos (or Phan Van Santos) is always thought to be number one choice in front of goal. However 32-year-old Santos conceded 37 goals last season which makes GDT Long An look for a replacement for the loyal goalkeeper. Their decision to bring the Macedonian international player to Long An stadium will surely pose a big threat to Santos 's first-team place.

Some more GDT Long An news:
- According to GDT Long An general director, Tshamala Kabanga (DR Congo) and Issawa Singthong (Thailand) are likely to be naturalized next season.
- GDT Long An will play in BTV Cup 2009 which will start in Binh Duong on November 20th.

Vietnam and Syria squad for Asian Cup 2011 qualifier

About Vietnam national team, Huynh Quang Thanh is out due to injury while Le Cong Vinh is back from Portugal.

Vietnam national team squad:

Goalkeepers:
Duong Hong Son (T&T Ha Noi)
Tran Duc Cuong (SHB Da Nang)
Bui Quang Huy (Nam Dinh)

Defenders:
Vu Nhu Thanh (Vissai Ninh Binh)
Le Phuoc Tu (Viettel FC)
Tran Trong Binh (T&T Ha Noi)
Dao Van Phong (Khanh Hoa)
Doan Viet Cuong (HAGL)
Nguyen Minh Duc (Hai Phong)
Truong Dinh Luat (Navibank Sai Gon)
Tran Dinh Dong (SLNA)

Midfielders:
Le Tan Tai (Khanh Hoa)
Nguyen Vu Phong (Binh Duong)
Nguyen Minh Phuong (GDT Long An)
Nguyen Minh Chau (Hai Phong)
Tran Duy Quang (HAGL)
Pham Thanh Luong (ACB Ha Noi)
Nguyen Trong Hoang (SLNA)
Mai Tien Thanh (Vissai Ninh Binh)
Phan Thanh Hung (SHB Da Nang)

Forwards:
Nguyen Viet Thang (Vissai Ninh Binh)
Nguyen Sy Manh (Vissai Ninh Binh)
Nguyen Quang Hai (Khanh Hoa)
Le Cong Vinh (Leixoes SC, Portugal)


Syria national team is arriving at Hanoi tonight (12/11) to play crucial Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier against Vietnam. Below is their squad:

Goalkeepers:
Adnan Al Hafez (Al Taleiah)
Musab Balhous (Al Karamah)

Defenders:
Jwan Hesso (Al Jaish)
Ali Diab (Al Majd)
Hamzeh Al Aitoni (Al Majd)
Ahmad Deeb (Al Karamah)
Bakri Tarab (Al Taleiah)

Midfielders:
Feras Esmaeel (Al Jaish)
Abdulrazaq Al Hussein (Al Jaish)
Ahmad Haj Mohamed (Al Ittihad)
Mutaz Kailouni (Al Ittihad)
Atef Jenyat (Al Karamah)
Yaser Shahin (Al Karamah)
Alaa Al Shbli (Al Karamah)
Jehad Al Hussein (Al Qadsia SC, Kuwait)

Forwards:
Abdulfatah Al Agha (Al Ittihad)
Ahmed Omair (Al Karamah)
Raja Rafe' (Al Majd)
Firas Al Khatib (Al Qadsia SC, Kuwait)
Mohamed Zeno (Rah Ahan, Iran)

Before flying to Vietnam, Syria NT has played 2 friendlies in Thailand in which they drew 1-1 against Thailand NT and lost 0-1 to Thai League All Star.

Results 10/11

Cambodia BIDC Cup:
HAGL v Vissai Ninh Binh 3-0
Cambodia U23 v Laos U23 2-1

Friendly:
Thai League All Stars v Syria 1-0

VFF Cup 2009 Final Results

China U23 v Singapore U23 2-0
Vietnam U23 v Thailand U23 0-0

Final standings:
1. Vietnam U23
2. China U23
3. Thailand U23
4. Singapore U23

25th SEA Games: Group Stage Draw

The official draw for 25th SEA Games Football has been held in Vientiane (Laos) this morning (09/11):

Group A: Thailand U23, Vietnam U23, Malaysia U23, Cambodia U23 and East Timor U23.
Group B: Myanmar U23, Indonesia U23, Singapore U23 and Laos U23.

24th SEA Games Football finalists Thailand U23 and Myanmar U23 were seeded and separated into different groups during the draw.

The tournament will last from 03/12 to 17/12.

Results 08/11

Cambodia U23

Cambodia BIDC Cup 2009:
Laos U23 v Vissai Ninh Binh (Vietnam) 1-1
Cambodia U23 v HAGL (Vietnam) 3-2

Friendly:
Thailand v Syria 1-1

AFC Champions League 2009 Final (07/11) :
Pohang Steelers (South Korea) v Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) 2-1

Vietnam U-23 won VFF Cup 2009

November 7th
Thailand U-23 v Singapore U-23 1-1
Vietnam U-23 v China U-23 3-1

Standings after 2 rounds:
1. Vietnam U-23 6 points
2. Thailand U-23 2 points
3. Singapore U-23 1 point
4. China U-23 1 point

With only 1 round left, Vietnam U-23 won VFF Cup 2009.

HAGL eyes Thai goalkeeper

Although having signed Michal Silhavy, one of the best V-League goalkeeper last season, HAGL is in search for one more goalkeeper when their second-choice GK Quoc Viet seems too inconsistent.

HAGL's target is 20-year-old Kawin Thammasatchanon, who is under contract with Muang Thong United. Besides Kawin, some other Thai names like Sivaruck (BEC Tero), Naritt (Pattaya) and Sintaweechai (Persib) are also on HAGL's radar.

Binh Dien Cup 2009

One more pre-season friendly cup. Binh Dien Cup 2009 will start in Long An tomorrow (November 6th).

Teams: GDT Long An, Hoa Phat Ha Noi, Dong Thap, Can Tho and Volta Redonda (Brazil).

Viettel FC officially taken over by Thanh Hoa

Done. Both sides have made official announcement about the deal.

So basically Thanh Hoa will play in V-League next season.

However, there's something undecided here. Vietnam football rules say a club merge requires at least 10 players transferred from the old club to the new one. As an agreement between Thanh Hoa and Viettel, Viettel FC squad would be divided into two groups. The youth squad trained in Europe would be transferred to a club namely Viettel Football Center which is playing in Vietnam First Division. The rest would join Thanh Hoa next season. That means they would have to move from Ha Noi to their new base in Thanh Hoa Province. Understandably, a lot of players said they were extremely disappointed about the decision. Some said they would never join the new club.

Viettel squad can be considered a good one, including some quality players such as Le Phuoc Tu, Thach Bao Khanh and Pham Minh Duc. If the board fail to reach an agreement with these players, some may be put on sale. Then it would be good news for other V-league sides.

Results 05/11

November 5th:
VFF Cup:
Thailand U-23 v China U-23 2-2
Vietnam U-23 v Singapore U-23 1-0

November 4th:
Friendly:
Singapore v Indonesia 3-1

Teams prepare for VFF Cup 2009

Some images taken last night

Vietnam U-23






Singapore U-23








Thailand U-23





China U-23