Football and the Vietnamese culture of loving football.

From taking to the streets to celebrate victory

Perhaps no further words are needed to describe the joy of the Vietnamese people after our U23 team's convincing victory over Qatar U23, marking their first-ever appearance in the final of a continental football tournament.

For the first time, the Vietnam U23 team proudly advanced to the final of a continental football tournament. Photo: Internet

Looking at the images and videos posted in newspapers and on social media over the past few days, it's unbelievable that we could achieve such a spectacular victory. Millions of Vietnamese people placed all their faith in the U23 Vietnam team's match on the afternoon of January 23rd, and they erupted with joy when their team won. Young and old, men and women, everyone poured into the streets, cheering with everything they had. In the major cities, all the roads leading to the center were ablaze with the red and yellow flags, and the cheers continued until late at night.

From victories against U23 Australia and U23 Syria, then overcoming U23 Iraq and U23 Qatar to proudly advance to the final match, our U23 team has made millions of Vietnamese hearts beat as one, both at home and around the world. Football is no longer just a game, a king of sports, but has truly become a story of national pride, a source of pride when the image of the national flag flies high on the international stage.

Coach Park Hang Seo joyfully called his players "warriors." Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc didn't have time to write a letter like he did after the victory against the U23 Iraq team, so he immediately called to congratulate Coach Park Hang Seo and his team! Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam also took to the streets on his motorbike to celebrate the young players' success... For the past few days, domestic newspapers have dedicated the most prominent positions to news and images about football, and social media is ablaze with the colors of the national flag.

The whole country was elated with the victory of the Vietnam U23 team. Without a burning desire for victory and a sense of national pride, the Vietnamese people wouldn't have acted this way!

Even booking flights to go cheer on the home team.

Information about travel companies like Fiditour, Viettravel, Vitour, Viet Travel... quickly organizing tours to Changzhou to cheer on the Vietnamese U23 players in the final match against Uzbekistan once again ignited the passion for football among Vietnamese people.

Approximately 5,000 fans are expected to attend the Changzhou stadium to cheer on the Vietnam U23 team. (Photo: Internet)

In just a few days, almost all tours to Changzhou were fully booked. By road, by air, direct flights, connecting flights... all sorts of ways to get to Jiangsu to cheer on the football team. Everyone wanted to see the players compete on the field with their own eyes; everyone wanted their cheers to contribute a small part to giving the team the strength to win.

Despite the relatively high tour prices—nearly 20 million VND per person (if booking early), or nearly 25 million VND per person for a day trip on January 27th, including airfare, match tickets, meals, and visa fees—all 800 seats for the three flights departing from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang were fully booked. Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air had to request additional flights to meet the demand from Vietnamese U23 fans.

With limited time and visa difficulties, some people had to fly via the Hanoi - Shanghai - Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/Singapore - Hanoi route, accepting a 72-hour transit, combining cheering on the football team with a trip to Thailand, Singapore, or Malaysia before returning.

On the evening of January 25th, Mr. Le Hoai Anh, General Secretary of the Vietnam Football Federation, stated that approximately 5,000 fans had come to Changzhou Stadium to cheer on the Vietnam U23 team.

And the lesson about the resilience of the Vietnamese people.

To achieve today's success, Park Hang Seo has held many positions: from assistant coach of the South Korean national team to head coach of the South Korean U23 team, experiencing both successes and failures. But even before the ball started rolling, he declared: the Vietnamese U23 team is not participating just for fun and will certainly create a surprise. Based on what has happened, this Korean coach has truly been the soul of the team.

Knowing themselves and their opponents, and employing appropriate tactics against each adversary, the Vietnam U23 team, under the leadership of Coach Park, achieved miraculous victories. In the two matches against the physically imposing Iraq and Qatar, he proved the accuracy of his coaching approach.

Maintaining spirit, courage, and composure are what Coach Park Hang Seo's players have shown in this tournament. In difficult situations (at times facing unfair treatment), the Vietnam U23 team calmly overcame all obstacles to win.

Thorough preparation, good physical fitness, and strict discipline are also valuable lessons that this dramatic and joyful sporting story has taught many people. It shows that "the human factor always determines success or failure."

Vinh City was ablaze with red as people celebrated the victory of the Vietnam U23 team in reaching the final of the 2018 AFC U23 Asian Championship. (Photo: Archival image)

On the afternoon of January 27th, tens of millions of Vietnamese football fans once again experienced moments of suspense and breathless anticipation as they watched the U23 Vietnam players in the final match against U23 Uzbekistan at the Changzhou Stadium in Jiangsu, China.

Although we know we are facing a truly strong team, which is extremely difficult, looking at the recent victories, it is clear that football has connected and spread national spirit, creating an unshakeable unity. Like the precious traditional values ​​of the Vietnamese people, we have every right to be optimistic and believe in the players' fighting spirit and their ability to overcome all obstacles.

We have every right to believe in a victory, even though achieving it is an enormous challenge for the Vietnam U23 team.