Mourinho's record low salary; Strangely, 2 Vietnamese-American players couldn't even play 1 half but still got into U23 Vietnam

Vietnamese tennis player causes shock by eliminating Medvedev, entering ATP Tour finals for first time

Learner Tien continued to write his fairy tale at the China Open 2025 when he beat Daniil Medvedev to book a ticket to the final to meet Jannik Sinner.

The Vietnamese-born player started strongly, taking advantage of Medvedev's errors to break in the first games and take an early lead.

However, Medvedev's stability at the end of set 1 and his ability to play sustainably from the back of the court helped him come back, winning 7-5 after Learner Tien made a double fault at the decisive moment.

In the second set, Medvedev had an early advantage but his injury slowed him down. Tien took advantage of the opportunity, played with confidence and won 7-5 to equalize the score.

Set 3 saw Medvedev almost exhausted from cramps, even arguing with the referee after being warned for “lack of determination”. Tien did not miss the opportunity, winning 2 consecutive breaks to lead 4-0. After a losing game, Medvedev was forced to retire.

With this victory, Learner Tien appeared in an ATP Tour final for the first time.

Learner Tien was born in 2005 in California, USA. Both his parents are of Vietnamese descent. His passion and talent for tennis were revealed early. This Vietnamese tennis player picked up a racket at the age of 1, and his parents soon oriented him towards tennis. At the age of 5, he won his first title at the Halloween 2011 tournament in Upland, California.

Strangely, 2 Vietnamese-American players couldn't even play a single half but still got into U23 Vietnam.

The list of U23 Vietnam is confusing because coach Kim Sang Sik called 2 Vietnamese-American players who are only reserve players at the club.

Vietnam U23 will regroup from October 4 in Hanoi, along with the national team during FIFA Days in October 2025. This is an important preparation step for the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Finals.

In the list of players for the 3rd round of 2025, in addition to familiar names who shone in the U23 Asia qualifiers such as Pham Ly Duc, Le Van Thuan, Nguyen Van Truong or Nguyen Ngoc My, attention is focused on three overseas Vietnamese faces: Viktor Le, Tran Thanh Trung and Nguyen Vadim.

If Viktor Le left more or less an impression, the presence of Tran Thanh Trung and Nguyen Vadim really caused a lot of controversy.

Nguyen Vadim, born in 2005 in Russia, has a Vietnamese father and a Russian mother. This 20-year-old player has just joined Da Nang Club in the 2025/26 season. Although he is considered quite versatile, able to play on both the wing and the center, Vadim has only played 4 times in V.League, with the highest number of minutes being... 31. The remaining three times he only played 12, 20 and 22 minutes.

Meanwhile, Tran Thanh Trung, a Vietnamese-American player valued at 400,000 euros, has even less playing time. He has also played 4 times but all of them have only lasted between 12 and 23 minutes. No goals, no assists – according to statistics from Transfermarkt.

Normally, coaches will rely on the actual performance at the club to choose players. Giving opportunities to faces who have not played much, or even have not shown any outstanding performance, is clearly a big paradox.

According to the plan, the team will practice at the Vietnam Youth Football Center until October 7, then go to the UAE for training. U23 Vietnam will play two quality friendly matches with U23 Qatar on October 9 and 13.

Mourinho's record low salary

Returning to Benfica after 25 years, Jose Mourinho accepted the most modest salary of his coaching career since leaving Portugal.

Mourinho pocketed £6 million in a 2-year contract at Benfica.
Benfica appointed Mourinho just three weeks after he was fired by Fenerbahce at the end of August. Speaking to CNN, Benfica President Rui Costa refused to reveal specific figures, but admitted that Mourinho's income was only equal to or lower than his predecessor Roger Schmidt.

According to British media, the "Special One's" 2-year contract has a total value of about 6 million pounds.

Previously, Mourinho had to cut his income when he left Tottenham to lead AS Roma in 2021. At that time, he agreed to reduce about 3.5 million pounds/year, receiving 6.5 million pounds from Roma compared to 10 million pounds at Spurs.

Mourinho continues to accept financial sacrifices to return to Benfica, where he started his coaching career. Although his salary is not as high as before, his appearance promises to bring a big boost to the Portuguese team in the Champions League and the domestic league. After 3 matches under Mourinho, Benfica maintained an unbeaten streak with 2 wins and 1 draw. If counting from the beginning of the season, Benfica has not lost a match after 7 rounds in the domestic league.

The man behind Antony's brilliance

Striker Antony has publicly expressed his desire to stay with Real Betis for a long time, especially with coach Manuel Pellegrini.

In an interview broadcast on Onda Cero, Antony expressed his admiration for coach Pellegrini: “He is a great coach. Everyone knows his remarkable career. I am very happy to work with him, not only because of the way he treats me but also with all the players. The renewal is between the club and Pellegrini, but personally I always wanted to stay with him longer.”

Antony's arrival at Betis is also linked to the Chilean tactician's mark. Earlier this year, Pellegrini himself persuaded Antony to join Betis on loan, helping the player regain his form in the second half of the 2024/25 season.

At the age of 25, Antony has had a difficult time and has been criticized a lot in England. But at Betis, he is gradually regaining confidence and love. Coach Pellegrini is also the one who contributed to helping Antony adapt quickly and shine.

MU accepted to let Antony leave for 25 million euros last summer. Despite suffering a heavy loss on this deal, the "Red Devils" can still hope to make a profit if the Brazilian winger shines in La Liga.