On the sidelines of Nghe An Newspaper Cup: It was worth it!

It was worth it!

The quarter-final match betweenVinh City Youthand Thieu Nien Hoang Mai ended with a lot of emotions. The most sublime emotions were probably the grandmother and grandson of goalkeeper Pham Hoang Gia Bao - Vinh City Youth team, the most impressive was probably the image of Gia Bao's 84-year-old grandmother slowly running onto the field, spreading her arms to hug her grandson with pride. Gia Bao brought victory to Vinh City Youth team when he successfully blocked 2 penalty kicks in the shootout.

She was so moved that her hands were shaking and her eyes were wet. She kept saying: "My Gia Bao is so good, it was worth my effort!"

The story of Gia Bao and his grandmother touched many Vinh City fans. For the past 3 years, because of the difficult life and the burden of raising children alone, Gia Bao's mother decided to send Bao to her grandmother and go to the South to work.
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Bich Suu - Gia Bao's grandmother confided: Bao is the youngest child in the family, also a very obedient, hard-working, and understanding child. I am old and sick, Bao washes all my clothes. We have taken care of each other for 3 years now, now seeing him strong and achieving such results, I am so happy.

To support her grandson in pursuing his passion, despite her old age, Gia Bao's grandmother took a motorbike taxi to watch all the matches that her grandson played, rain or shine. When people suggested that she stay home for the following matches if the weather was too hot, she shook her head: No, I have to go, I have to go to the end to support my grandson!

Homegrown media team

The first quarter-final match at the youth stadium was not broadcast live, so fans of these teams mobilized their own media force to livestream on Facebook, serving the audience at home.

Accordingly, in the match between Quy Chau Youth and Quynh Luu Youth, there were 3 tripods brought by the fans to film on the sidelines. A Quy Chau Youth fan shared: "There are a lot of fans at home, but it's too far away so we can't go down to Vinh to watch. Luckily, the home team has a strong media force with high-end equipment so people in Quy Chau can watch this match."

As the youngest member of the media team, "cameraman" Tran Huy Vu (11 years old,Quynh Luu) also climbed up the scaffolding - the highest position to get the most comprehensive view, despite the very sunny and hot weather.

"Coax" the players

A collection of popular motivational quotes from coaches and parents whenplayercrybaby:

“It's okay, don't cry, we'll play again next year.”

"Last year this team won the championship, if we lose to them this year then we will only lose to the champion team."

"Learning is a matter of fate. I played very well, just unlucky."

"We are not bad, they are just too good."

"Go home, eat well, and practice diligently to take revenge next year."

“Shut up, when we get home your parents will take you out to play, what do you want to eat?”

“I'm satisfied that I got here. The training time is short and my health is weak. I'm satisfied with that.”

"Their team is as big as an army, we are small and have a lot of injuries, so losing is inevitable."

“This time last year I would have gone home a long time ago. It's good enough that I'm still here to play this year.”

"It's so hot, who can stand it? Parents can't bear it, can't kick like a rocket."

"Hey kids, you lost on your own. Is it because the teacher made you lose that you're crying?"

"Are you trying to blackmail the teacher?"

“If you want to cry, go sit in the stands, don't play! (player cries when the match is not over yet).

“Be strong, sit down and think about where you went wrong and learn from it. Good players don’t sit around crying like that.”

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While parents tend to coax, coaches often have a more firm and rational approach. However, after surveying some players (when they had calmed down), many players responded that the more their parents coaxed them, the more they wanted to cry.