Vietnam team practices in private at 'fire pit' Shah Alam
During the only official training session at Shah Alam Stadium on the morning of December 5, before the first leg of the AFF Cup 2014 semi-final against Malaysia on the evening of December 7, coach Toshiya Miura instructed his players to limit contact with the outside world.
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The media was blocked from a distance, not allowed to access the training session of the Vietnamese team.Accordingly, Coach Miura ordered his assistants to only allow a few reporters onto the field to take photos while the team warmed up for about ten minutes, after which everyone was politely invited to leave the field, not even standing in the tunnel to observe.
The practice session lasted about 90 minutes. After the session, Thanh Nien Online reporter had a quick interview with Head of Delegation Mai Duc Chung.
Mr. Chung said: “Overall, everything is fine. The Shah Alam pitch is a bit soft, and the grass has not been cut short. Hopefully, after today’s training session, tomorrow (December 6), the field organizers will roll it up to have the best pitch for the match.”
When we asked about the injury situation of the Vietnamese team, Mr. Chung said: “Only Minh Tuan is still practicing recovery and will most likely play in the second leg. Defender Xuan Thanh is still practicing separately, so the chance of playing in the upcoming semi-final is 50/50, the rest are healthy and eager to play. In my opinion, the Vietnamese team is having the best preparation for the match, both mentally and professionally.”
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Inside the 80,000-seat Shah Alam StadiumThanh Nien Online reporters also tried to observe the Vietnam team's training session from afar. In addition to the exercises with the secret tactical moves of Coach Miura, the rest of the Japanese strategist set up fixed situations such as blocking free kicks or organizing free kicks, blocking high balls that Malaysia is very strong at from crosses from the sidelines or corner kicks.
According to the training schedule, after the training session at the main stadium today, the Vietnamese team will have another training session at PKNS stadium near the headquarters of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in Kelana Jaya on the afternoon of December 6 from 4 to 5 pm to get used to the match schedule in Malaysia.
According to Thanh Nien
