Philippines - Vietnam, the clash of "familiar people"
(Baonghean.vn) - In addition to the 4 times meeting at the AFF Cup (2002, 2010, 2012, 2014), Philippine and Vietnamese football have also clashed many times at regional youth tournaments. Therefore, there were quite a few people present at the semi-final match in Bacolod who were "acquaintances" with each other.
After coach Eriksson, the three names, assistant Greatwich, captain Phil Younghusband and reserve player number 22 Paul Mulders, are the most interested by experts. They are the ones who will greatly influence the result of the semi-final match with the Vietnamese team. All three are familiar with the Vietnamese team and vice versa.
Greatwich Assistant
"Mr. Eriksson is very good, but no one understands the Philippine players and the Vietnamese team better than assistant coach Greatwich," former coach of the Philippine team Simon Mcmenemy once said. Remember, at the 2010 AFF Cup, 35-year-old former national player Greatwich was the one who scored the opening goal in the Philippines' 2-0 victory at My Dinh Stadium.
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| Assistant Greatwich is considered the connecting arm between coach Eriksson and the Philippine players. Photo: Internet |
When Mr. Eriksson arrived, interim coach Scott Cooper became technical advisor, and Greatwich became assistant. It is easy to see that the "Azkals" coaching staff at the AFF Cup 2018 are all high-class players. They have experienced coach Eriksson, and Greatwich is considered the connecting arm between the coach and the players.
It is true that coach Eriksson does not understand the Philippine players better than Greatwich. Simply put, he played 48 matches for the national team in 10 years from 2004 to 2014, and many of the players currently playing for the team were his teammates. Greatwich's deep understanding of the Philippine team is something that Eriksson and Cooper do not have, because they are just newcomers to Southeast Asia. Therefore, assistant Greatwich is an indispensable piece in the Philippine team's coaching staff.
Greatwich is tasked with regularly providing information about players, and analyzing past opponents to send to coach Eriksson. Perhaps thanks to that, the Philippines team has successfully overcome the group of death of the AFF Cup 2018, which includes Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
It is known that among the 3 names that have scored against the Vietnamese team, Greatwich, Phil Younghusband (AFF Cup 2010) and Caligdong (AFF Cup 2012), only Phil Younghusband, the captain of the Philippine team, is still playing. The player born in 1987 received basic training at the Chelsea Youth Academy since he was 9 years old. It was not until 2008, despite being the top scorer of the youth team for many years, but could not get a place in the first team, that he left the London team to return home to play. Phil Younghusband plays the highest, leading the attack in the 4-4-2 formation of the Philippines.
In the home team, there is 37-year-old reserve player Paul Mulders, a name that Ngoc Hai and the Vietnamese defenders must remember. This number 22 has been on the team for 10 years with more than 100 appearances, at the same time as Greatwich and Phil Younghusband, so the veteran has a lot of experience after facing the Vietnamese team in the last 3 AFF Cups (2010, 2012, 2014).
Fate "tore the net" of the host
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| Center back Duy Manh (2011), is the player who scored a hat-trick against U16 Philippines. Photo: Internet |
Although Hoang Thinh, Vu Minh Tuan and Thanh Luong, the players under coach Miura who scored in the 3-1 win over the Philippines at My Dinh Stadium in the 2014 AFF Cup, are not in the national team, there are still 5 Vietnamese players who have scored against this team.
The leader is center back Duy Manh (2011), with a hat-trick against U16 Philippines in the "crazy" 10-0 victory of the U16 Vietnam players. At that time, the player born in 1996 played in the position of central midfielder. At the 2016 Southeast Asian U19 tournament, striker Ha Duc Chinh also scored a double against U19 Philippines.
The SHB.Da Nang striker scored in the 10th and 62nd minutes, making an important contribution to the 4-3 victory of U19 Vietnam against U19 Philippines. The two most recent names on the list of players who scored against the Philippines are Cong Phuong and Van Toan. At the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia, each scored a goal against U22 Philippines. In that match, Coach Huu Thang's team won a resounding 4-0 victory.
At the 2011 SEA Games, Van Quyet was the player who "tore the net" of the Philippines in the 90+1 minute, sealing a 3-1 victory for U23 Vietnam against U23 Philippines. Obviously, if the home team only had Phil Younghusband, the captain of the Philippines team, still playing on the field, the Vietnamese team would dominate, perhaps 3/5 players would put on their shoes to face each other. The confrontation between the 31-year-old veteran of the home team and the young midfielder Duy Manh will make the audience of both countries interested.
