AFF Cup: 2-1 score and the haunting memory of My Dinh

In 2014, the Vietnam national team under coach Miura traveled to Bukit Jalil to play the first leg of the semi-final against host Malaysia without daring to think much about a victory. At that time, the Vietnam national team was not as highly rated as it is now, so playing away in front of 80,000 home fans was truly a huge challenge.

The home team took the lead after a penalty kick in the 13th minute by Safiq Rahim. Playing away from home and losing again, no one dared to think about a favorable result for the Vietnamese team anymore.

However, in a day of inspiration, Vo Huy Toan with a "crazy" shot equalized for the Vietnamese team in the first half of the match. That was truly a decision to shoot and gamble on Toan's career because it would have been too dangerous if the opposing team's goalkeeper had been a little quicker.

Fans poured into the streets to celebrate after the first leg of the AFF Cup semi-final. Photo: Internet

Not stopping there, Coach Miura's team continued to silence Bukit Jalil once again with Van Quyet's goal to increase the score to 2-1. An exemplary goal by the Hanoi player brought an unbelievable victory for the Vietnam team before marching to My Dinh to play the second leg of the semi-final.

There is no reason why Vietnamese fans should not think about a favorable result in the end, despite the difficult 90 minutes ahead at My Dinh. The 400,000 spectators present at My Dinh on the day of the return match seemed to be preparing to enjoy the atmosphere of celebrating Vietnam reaching the final of the Southeast Asian tournament after many years of waiting.

However, unlike what fans expected, My Dinh on November 12, 2014 became a painful memory of Vietnamese football.

The first mistake was Que Ngoc Hai's inexperienced tackle that gave the visiting team Malaysia a delicious penalty kick when the audience was still not warm.

Like a domino effect, mistake after mistake. The Vietnamese defense played like amateurs, allowing the away team's strikers to freely score 4 goals in the first half of the match. At the end of the first 45 minutes, the Vietnamese team lost quickly 1-4, with Le Cong Vinh scoring the only goal for Vietnam.

The heavy early defeat severely depressed the Vietnamese players. Cong Vinh scored another goal but that was not enough for the Vietnamese team to overcome the difficulties. Losing 2-4 in the second leg and 4-5 in both legs, the Vietnamese team said goodbye to the tournament in the shock of the whole of Southeast Asia.

Mr. H. Calisto is the one who brought the AFF Cup 2008 championship to Vietnam. Photo: Internet

Holding the gold and letting it fall, Cong Vinh's tears after the match are an image depicting the sadness that Vietnamese fans had to endure in that year's tournament.

Two years later, also in the second leg of the semi-final against Indonesia at the AFF Cup 2016, Vietnam once again fell. With a 2-2 draw, Vietnam continued to create an unforgettable memory in the history of the AFF Cup.

From Bukit Jalil 2014 to Bacolod 2018, the Vietnam national team has always done things beyond expectations at an AFF Cup, those are all away victories against difficult teams with the same score of 2-1. Vietnamese fans are really happy but also worried. 2 very big lessons in history both took place in the second leg semi-finals right at My Dinh.

Hopefully, with the Korean strategist's talent and a new, talented and truly united team, the Vietnamese national team will not let the "ghost" of the semi-finals appear again at My Dinh Stadium on December 6./.