Coach Falko Goetz chooses his players through VFF Cup 2011

This morning, at the press conference introducing the VFF Cup, Vietnam U23 coach Falko Goetz assessed that this was a good opportunity to test his students, thereby finding the 20 best players for the 26th SEA Games. The 2011 VFF Cup Eximbank will take place from October 19 to 23. Four teams will compete in a round robin to select the champion.

Tickets for the VFF Eximbank Cup 2011 come in four denominations: 150, 120, 80 and 50,000 VND. Tickets are sold via official dispatch, on the Organizing Committee’s website and directly at booths located on Trinh Hoai Duc Street and My Dinh Square.

Due to Thailand and Indonesia's last-minute refusal, the guests of the 2011 VFF Cup are three teams in the U23 age group: Uzbekistan, Malaysia and Myanmar.

The reigning SEA Games champions, U23 Malaysia, have submitted a list of 30 players to participate in the VFF Cup. Of these, 14 players played in the 25th SEA Games and 9 are on the Malaysian national team. However, the official list of players registered for the 2011 VFF Cup is only 22. Each team is allowed to register 20 players for each match. Malaysia and U23 Uzbekistan arrived in Hanoi on October 17. Myanmar arrived the earliest on October 16.

Talking about the home team, which is currently maintaining a training intensity of two sessions a day, coach Goetz admitted that the team is in the process of heavy training. “Vietnamese players are small. They are physically weak. That is the reason why we have to work hard. I have 26 players in my squad but only 20 of them can attend the 26th SEA Games. Choosing who to include and who to leave out is not an easy task. But after three matches at the VFF Cup, I can do this. We are looking forward to the opening day of the VFF Cup to test our strength,” Goetz confided when asked about the “trump cards” he will use to conquer the SEA Games gold medal this year.

“U23 Vietnam is a young team. They really need to compete to gain experience and perfect their playing style. Therefore, the VFF Cup 2011 with three matches is a good opportunity to test each player's ability. I don't put too much emphasis on results, but my players must play their best, show their best ability to achieve the highest results in every match.” Goetz talked about U23 Vietnam's goal in the last friendly tournament before the 26th SEA Games.

VFF Cup 2011 was stuck in the search for sponsors. It was not until close to the opening ceremony, thanks to the influence of VFF Vice President Le Hung Dung, that Eximbank agreed to take on this role.

Thanks to the presence of Eximbank, the prize value of VFF Cup 2011 is considered high compared to the level of a friendly tournament. Accordingly, the champion team will receive 25,000 USD in prize money. The runner-up and third place will receive 10,000 and 5,000 USD respectively for each prize.

According to VnExpress