Vietnam Olympic team marches far away

At 6:00 p.m. this afternoon, the Vietnam Olympic team under the guidance of coach Phan Thanh Hung will depart for Saudi Arabia to prepare for the first leg of the second qualifying round of the 2012 London Olympics with the host team, taking place on June 19.

This was a difficult journey for the Phan coach's students. Not only did they change planes 3 times (Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City-Doha-Riyad), when they arrived in Saudi Arabia, they also had to travel by road about 800km to reach Mahalah city - the venue for the first leg. Despite the long journey, the team only had 1 day to rest before entering the match with the home team at Prince Sultan Sport City.

Coach Phan Thanh Hung instructed his students before departure.

“The training time is too short so the players have not achieved the necessary harmony. Meanwhile, the team's physical strength will be affected because of the long journey. However, through the efforts that the players have shown in the past 2 days of training, especially in terms of spirit, I believe that the Vietnamese Olympic team will play well and get points in the first leg,” said coach Phan Thanh Hung.

Yesterday, the Vietnam Olympic team reduced the roster from 27 to 20 players for the trip to Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, the 7 players who must stay at home are Duc Tai, Doan Bac (B.Binh Duong), Van Viet (Quang Nam), Anh Duc (Hanoi); Van Thuan (Nam Dinh), Hai Huy (Than Quang Ninh) and Hoang Thinh (SLNA).

List of 20 Vietnamese Olympic players going to Saudi Arabia:

Buu Ngoc (CS Dong Thap), Tuan Manh (HA GL), Tien Duy, Van Hieu (Than Quang Ninh), Anh Quang, Van Nam (Nam Dinh), Van Hau, Thanh Hao (CS Dong Thap), Van Hoan, Trong Hoang, Van Binh (SL Nghe An), Van Thang (Thanh Hoa), Manh Dung (V. Ninh Binh), Trung Kien (HCMC), Minh Tuan, Nguyen Sa (SHB Da Nang), Tan Dat (K. Khanh Hoa), Van Quyet (Hanoi T&T).

According to Dat Viet