Coach Park Hang-seo adds new players from January 13; Second strategist resigns after AFF Cup 2020

Coach ParkHang-seoadd new players from 13/1

Vietnam will have some more players in the preliminary list of 60 players registered for the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. The team will gather again on January 13.

On the morning of January 3, Coach Park Hang-seo and his players had their last training session during their 3-day quarantine in Hanoi. They will return to their hometowns in the afternoon of the same day and regroup on January 13.

In the upcoming training session,Coach Park Hang-seowill call some new names. Among them are central defender Nguyen Huu Tuan (HAGL), Cao Van Trien (Sai ​​Gon Club), To Van Vu (Binh Duong) or Do Hung Dung (Hanoi Club).

The official and complete list will be announced by the Vietnam Football Federation before the meeting day. New papers of each player will be sent to the club.

These additions are aimed at helping the Vietnamese team achieve specific goals such as winning the 2022 AFF Cup and the remaining matches in the World Cup qualifiers.

Coach Park Hang-seo calculates new personnel for the Vietnam team from January 13. Photo: VFF.

The new factor also helps the team maintain its competitiveness, creating pressure for other players to strive. The spirit of never giving up is what the Vietnamese team is aiming for.

After the AFF Cup 2020 campaign, the Vietnamese team will have a 10-day break. This will be a precious time for the players to spend with their families. The upcoming journey will be busy with two matches against Australia and China.

The Vietnamese team will train for 7 days in Hanoi before going to Melbourne (Australia) to compete on January 27. They will then return to Hanoi to face China on February 1, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Second strategist resigns after AFF Cup 2020

Another coach has resigned after the recent 2020 Southeast Asian Football Championship (AFF Cup).

Accordingly, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced that coach Tan Cheng Hoe has decided to resign from the position of head coach of the Malaysian national team. This decision was approved by FAM after a meeting with the 53-year-old strategist.

Coach Tan Cheng Hoe's decision is not surprising as he has been under great pressure after the campaign.World Cup 2022 QualifiersAsia region was not successful. And at the recent AFF Cup 2020, the Malaysian team showed a tired face and could not get past the group stage when they were the runner-up of the tournament.

Coach Tan Cheng Hoe resigned after AFF Cup 2020.

“We would like to thank Tan Cheng Hoe for his 14 years of dedication to Malaysian football. He was an assistant coach for the youth teams from 2005 to 2013. In 2017, Tan returned to work as an assistant coach to Nelo Vingada at the national team before becoming the head coach in 2018. He helped Malaysia win the 2009 SEA Games gold medal and the 2010 AFF Cup championship as an assistant coach to Rajagopal. As head coach, he helped the national team win the 2018 AFF Cup runner-up position. His dedication and efforts will always be remembered. Thank you, Tan. We wish him the best of luck in his future career,” FAM said in a statement.

Thus, coach Tan Cheng Hoe is the second strategist to say goodbye after the AFF Cup 2020, before that was coach Tatsuma Yoshida of Singapore.

Myanmar takes AFC Cup spot from Vietnam

Nam Dinh Club and Thanh Hoa team refused to participate in AFC Cup 2022, causing Vietnamese football to lose the second place. Hantharwaddy United, representative of Myanmar, was added to the group stage.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has cut the second spot in the 2022 AFC Cup (ACC) group stage after two V.League clubs refused to participate. Viettel is the only team representing Vietnamese football in this arena.

According to Footy Rankings, Hantharwaddy United will be able to enter the ACC 2022 group stage directly without having to play a play-off match against Laos' Young Elephants. The reason is that Myanmar's football ranking is higher than Laos'.

This resulted in the two play-off pairs having only 3 teams, PSM Makassar (Indonesia), Young Elephants (Laos) and Visakha (Cambodia), so they could not be paired. The Indonesian representative was allowed to go straight to the group stage due to their higher ranking.

Vietnamese football lost an AFC Cup spot to Myanmar. Photo:Quang Thinh

The only play-off match that has been rearranged, leaving only one spot in the group stage, is the competition between Young Elephants and Visakha. Thus, the group stage of ACC 2022 in Southeast Asia will have 12 participating teams.

Vietnam football only has Viettel. Previously, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) received rejections from Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa clubs. VFF also consulted Binh Duong team but also received rejections.

According to the ranking, the next team invited is Hanoi FC. However, AFC does not agree with "transferring the slot" up to three times.

"The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has regulations on the order of replacement. If the replaced teams do not participate, no more will be taken," a VFF official told Zing on December 17.

Thus, HAGL will represent Vietnam in the AFC Champions League, while Viettel FC will compete in the AFC Cup. The draw is expected to take place in the last week of January 2022.

MU lost the first match under coach Ralf Rangnick

MU opened 2022 with a 0-1 loss to Wolves in round 21 of the Premier League in the early morning of January 4 (Hanoi time).

Coach Ralf Rangnick's 4-2-2-2 formation continued to be ineffective. MU was inferior in the first half, deadlocked in the second half and conceded a goal to the opponent with a long-range shot from Joao Moutinho in the 82nd minute.

MU lost miserably at home.

The disappointing result at Old Trafford has once again caused MU to lose their advantage in the race for the top 4. The "Red Devils" have 31 points, 4 points behind Arsenal but only have 1 match left. Tottenham is the team that benefits. Coach Antonio Conte's team has 33 points but has 2 matches left.

55 million euro rookie debuts at Barca

On the evening of January 3 (Hanoi time), Ferran Torres attended his first press conference at Barca and introduced himself to fans at Camp Nou stadium.

"I'm back in La Liga and playing for one of the great clubs in Spain. When Barca contacted me, I didn't have to think much because it was a great opportunity. This is a special occasion for me and my family. I want to play and enjoy with Barca fans," Torres said on the day of his media debut.

"I started as a striker but often moved to the right. For me, any position is not a problem, as long as I can play. My injury is progressing well and I have completed the recovery period. Hopefully I will be ready to play in the Super Cup," Torres continued.

Former Man City star sends his gratitude to his old teacher Pep Guardiola. Torres said he learned a lot from Pep, and has countless good memories during his time at Man City.

Torres was introduced to Barca fans alongside President Joan Laporta. Photo: Reuters.

Earlier on the evening of December 28 (Hanoi time), Barca's homepage announced the completion of the recruitment of Ferran Torres from Man City. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said Barca spent 55 million euros, plus 10 million euros in additional fees (if the terms were completed) to have Torres.

Torres joined Man City in the summer of 2020 from Valencia. In the 2020/21 season, he played 36 matches for Man City and scored 13 goals. This season, Torres has played 7 matches and scored 3 goals.

The 2000 striker is expected to be a valuable addition to Barca. At the moment, the Camp Nou team does not have a quality striker. Luuk de Jong is just a stopgap solution. Memphis Depay is more suitable to play on the wing than as a striker.

Torres is also ready to play well on the wing or as an attacking midfielder. He is an important pillar of the Spanish team.