The champions of Nghe An Newspaper Cup 2017 season

(Baonghean) - The 21st Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament has determined the owners of the gold cup of the 2017 season.

TN Quynh Luu: "Real Madrid Cup Leopard"

As the defending champion of 2016, Quynh Luu Youth Team is determined to maintain the achievements, not letting down the love of the people of the district. Mr. Nguyen Van Ky - Director of the Culture - Sports Center, Head of the Quynh Luu District Football Team participating in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup in 2017 said: Quynh Luu Team currently has a very strong and even youth team, carefully selected from more than 60 players from 3 training centers Giat, Son Hai and Tuan. Training time is arranged more densely, for nearly 1 year. In the friendly match with the players who won the championship last year, Quynh Luu Youth Team of the 2017 season easily won. The team's goal is to maintain the achievements, winning the double cup for 2 consecutive years.

In the group stage, TN Quynh Luu was in Group C - a group considered to be "death" with the presence of two other strong teams, TN Yen Thanh and TN Cua Lo. In the first match against TN Cua Lo, TN Quynh Luu won 4 - 0, thereby winning the first ticket to the quarterfinals. In the second match against TN Yen Thanh, coach TN Quynh Luu sent most of the reserve players onto the field but the team still won with a score of 5-4. Mr. Ho Quoc Huy - Head coach of TN Quynh Luu confidently said: "Other teams have to calculate and choose their opponents in the quarterfinals; for Quynh Luu, every team is the same. To win the championship, we have to beat all the teams."

Quynh Luu Youth Team celebrates winning the Nghe An Newspaper Cup. Photo: TC

Entering the quarter-finals, TN Quynh Luu faced TN Tuong Duong - the "dark horse" of the season with impressive wins in the group stage with a squad of players with good physique, fitness and technique. However, in the match, Quynh Luu players completely overwhelmed and dominated their opponents and won with a score of 2 - 0.

In the semi-final, TN Quynh Luu met again with their fateful opponent, TN TP. Vinh. In the 2016 season, in the group stage, TN TP. Vinh defeated TN Quynh Luu with a score of 7-0; meeting again in the final, TN Quynh Luu defeated TN TP. Vinh in a penalty shootout to win the championship. However, in this reunion, TN Quynh Luu showed superiority, defeating their old opponent with a score of 2-0, strongly advancing to the final.

The final match of TN Quynh Luu in this tournament was a reunion with TN Yen Thanh. Although in the first half, Quynh Luu players encountered some difficulties due to the determination and progress of Yen Thanh players and were held to a 1-1 draw, but in the second half, the strong physical foundation helped Coach Ho Quoc Huy's students completely dominate to win the final score of 4-1, thereby successfully defending the championship of the TN-ND Nghe An Newspaper Cup. TN Quynh Luu's journey through 2 seasons has many similarities with Real Madrid - the UEFA Champions League Champion of the last 2 seasons, so many people have called this team "Real Madrid Newspaper Cup".

Quynh Luu fans prepare flags and drums to cheer for their team. Photo: Chu Thanh

Looking back at the success of Quynh Luu Youth Team over the past 2 years, it can be seen that the championship of the team did not come from chance or the "good harvest" of talent but from the love for children of the district's people, the support of individuals and groups. In the matches of Quynh Luu team, there is always a large cheering from the district's fans. The drum beats from the stands have added strength, pushing Quynh Luu Youth Team forward. Second, it is the very methodical investment; currently, in 21 districts and cities in the province, only Quynh Luu is the locality that has maintained a youth football tournament for more than 20 years and has 3 amateur gifted classes. The success of Quynh Luu Youth Team also comes from the hard training of teachers and students for many months. With the championship of the 2017 season, up to now, Quynh Luu Youth Team has had 5 championships, becoming one of the most successful teams of the Newspaper Cup. We believe that these consecutive championships will become a great source of encouragement for the land "the cradle of Nghe An football" to produce more Golden Balls such as Duong Hong Son, Le Cong Vinh...

Hoang Mai Industrial Park: Impressive journey

When the final whistle sounded, all the players, the coaching staff and the fans of ND Hoang Mai burst into joy of victory. It is true that before the tournament, ND Hoang Mai was not rated too highly. However, from the first match to the last match, ND Hoang Mai showed that they were completely worthy of the championship to close an impressive journey...

Hoang Mai Children's Team with the championship cup. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Looking back at the journey of ND Hoang Mai in this tournament, the team's lifting of the Championship Cup was completely deserved. In this year's tournament, ND Hoang Mai was the only team that did not lose any match and also scored the most goals. Right in the group stage, Phung Quang Nam, Tran Quoc Anh and his teammates scored 13 goals, including 10 goals against ND Quy Chau and 3 goals against ND Hung Nguyen - a strong candidate for the championship.

In the quarter-finals, NĐ Hoàng Mai continued to win to win a big victory against NĐ Cửa Lò with a score of 7 - 0. In the semi-finals, NĐ Hoàng Mai once again made the audience and experts admire when they played overwhelmingly and defeated NĐ Nghi Lộc with a score of 4 - 2.

The opponent of NĐ Hoàng Mai in the final match was NĐ Tân Kỳ - a team with a tradition of playing solidly and disciplined. During the first half, NĐ Hoàng Mai players had many difficulties in launching attacks and this was also the only half in which the young players from the town at the head of Nghe An did not score any goals. In the second half, the attacking lines of NĐ Hoàng Mai players were sharper but it was not until the last minutes of the match that the young players from the town at the head of Nghe An scored 2 consecutive goals. Although the opponent scored a goal to reduce the score in the last minute, the score of 2 - 1 was enough for NĐ Hoàng Mai to win the Championship for the first time. Not only that, NĐ Hoàng Mai also won individual titles including Top Scorer and Best Player of the tournament for Phung Van Nam.

Sharing after the final match, coach Ho Huu Tien of ND Hoang Mai said: "Before this match, because I was worried about the kids' psychological problems, I encouraged them that no matter what, they were already champions in the hearts of teachers and the fans who followed them here. Winning a highly competitive tournament like the Youth-Number Football Tournament Nghe An Newspaper Cup will help the kids have a truly meaningful summer."

Players and coaching staff of ND Hoang Mai team celebrate winning the Nghe An Newspaper Cup. Photo: Canh Nam

Coach Ho Huu Tien also added that this is only the 4th time Hoang Mai Town has participated in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament, but compared to previous participations, this year's team has many conditions to improve their professional skills. First of all, since 2016, the town has had an amateur talent class of SLNA Club, thanks to which the selection and training of players has been more convenient. In addition, this year, the town also has a number of artificial turf fields, creating better conditions for young players to practice. Along with that, the attention and better investment from authorities at all levels and businesses in the town have also encouraged the whole team to compete explosively.

According to experts, ND Hoang Mai is considered to have a well-balanced squad of players, and its playing style is based on collective cohesion, not depending on any individual, even though the team has the best player of the tournament, Phung Van Nam. The players also follow the coach's instructions well, not being hasty in their attacks. Thanks to this playing style, ND Hoang Mai has overcome all the toughest opponents to win the cup. That is a worthy reward, and at the same time, it is also a driving force for the football movement of the town in Nghe An to develop even more strongly in the coming time.

Thanh Son - Canh Nam