Vietnamese clubs participating in AFC Cup face unfavorable match schedule: What is the role of VFF and VPF?
(Baonghean.vn) - The request to postpone the match schedule of B.Binh Duong Club - one of the two Vietnamese clubs currently competing in the AFC Cup, was not met. Many domestic football fans feel disappointed with the role of VFF and VPF in this matter.
On May 15, B.Binh Duong Club played away against Ceres Club (Philippines) in the final round of the AFC Cup 2019 group stage. With a long journey, Nguyen Anh Duc and his teammates arrived in Ho Chi Minh City at 0:25 on May 17. Meanwhile, the match between HAGL Club and B.Binh Duong Club was held at Pleiku Stadium on the afternoon of May 19.
Thus, coach Nguyen Thanh Son and his team will only have about 60 hours to prepare for this match (including the travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Gia Lai). In this situation, the Board of Directors of B.Binh Duong Club has sent a dispatch to VFF and VPF to request to postpone the match between HAGL Club and B.Binh Duong Club in round 10 of V.League 2019 to take place 1 day later (from May 19 to May 20).
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| B.Binh Duong Club has just over 1 day to prepare for the away match at Pleiku Stadium. Photo: zing.vn |
Unfortunately, the HAGL Club's Board of Directors did not agree. The specific reason is that Mr. Duc's team was passive in arranging plans as well as preparing for the next match at Hoa Xuan Stadium of SHB Da Nang Club. It is worth mentioning that the match between SHB Da Nang Club and HAGL Club will take place on the afternoon of May 25, meaning that the mountain town team has 6 days to prepare for the match in round 11.
Of course, the HAGL Club Board of Directors has a legitimate reason to reject the proposal of the B.Binh Duong Club Board of Directors. Objectively speaking, this is a common thing in professional football, where the interests of each team are always put first. The HAGL Club Board of Directors is only trying to protect their own interests.
The question is, what is the role of VFF and VPF? Why did VFF and VPF not intervene so that B.Binh Duong Club – the team representing Vietnamese football (along with Hanoi Club) participating in the AFC Cup 2019 tournament – could enjoy “privileges”?
Suddenly remembered the decision of the Dutch Football Federation about 1 month ago. To create conditions for Ajax Amsterdam Club to have the best preparation for the 2 semi-final matches with Tottenham Club, the Dutch Football Federation decided to postpone all matches in round 31.
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| Ajax Amsterdam Club was given special treatment by the Dutch Football Federation thanks to its achievement of reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. Photo: espn.com |
Speaking to the press, the Technical Director of the Dutch Football Federation, Eric Gudde, affirmed: "In any case, changing the match schedule to serve Ajax in the Champions League semi-finals is necessary. When entering the round of 4 strongest teams, not only Ajax will benefit but also Dutch football will benefit from this."
It is known that rescheduling a football match is not simple, it greatly affects the preparation of the two teams, then tickets, then television copyright... However, in reality, for a long time, Vietnamese football teams have not been successful in the continental arena, mostly due to thin forces, inconvenient match schedules, affecting the physical strength of the players, so they are forced to "let go" of AFC to focus on V.League.
Therefore, if VFF and VPF create conditions for the match between HAGL Club and B.Binh Duong Club to take place on the afternoon of May 20 so that B.Binh Duong Club can compete in the AFC Cup with peace of mind, it would be great, because that is also a way to protect the flag, the image of Vietnamese football in the continental arena./.
