I learned a lot from the World Cup.

(Baonghean)A reporter from Nghe An Newspaper had a conversation with player Le Cong Vinh (Song Lam Nghe An Club) about this year's World Cup.

PV:With the 2014 World Cup now past the qualifying rounds, what are Cong Vinh's thoughts on the players and teams participating in this tournament?

Le Cong Vinh:Looking at the statistics of teams participating in previous World Cups and EUROs, you can predict which teams usually go deep in this year's World Cup. In the 1998 World Cup, France won, followed by Brazil in 2002. Germany always goes deep in the tournaments; if they don't win, they always reach the quarter-finals or semi-finals, never failing to advance from the group stage. Then there's the Netherlands, who always play well in the group stage and perform excellently in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Before the 2014 World Cup, everyone had high hopes for Portugal, but this team has never been a worthy opponent at the biggest football event on the planet, despite having superstar Ronaldo, and this year they were eliminated in the group stage! Argentina, on the other hand, is certainly not an easy opponent to bully because they are always very determined. And most importantly, Brazil, they're not as strong as in previous years, they no longer have as many top stars, their squad is more physically strong, they don't play as flamboyantly as before, but they will certainly go far. As for star players like Neymar of Brazil, Messi of Argentina, and Roberto of the Netherlands, they always play well in every World Cup because they are world-class players, and they have been and are proving themselves to be shining stars in this World Cup.

According to Le Cong Vinh, he learned a great deal from the players who participated in the World Cup, from dribbling techniques to goal-scoring skills.

PV:As a professional player, what have you learned from this World Cup?

Le Cong Vinh:The World Cup brings together the best players on the planet, so naturally, players from a less developed football nation like Vietnam must learn from them, from dribbling techniques and long-range shots to one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper or dribbling past him. Even though we can't watch them live, we can still learn a lot and develop our own skills.

PV:As a player who once faced the Brazilian Olympic team at My Dinh Stadium, how does Cong Vinh assess the footballing abilities of the Vietnamese and Brazilian players?

Le Cong Vinh:Brazil is a country with a football system that has always been number one in the world, and they are always proud of that. First of all, the physique of Vietnamese people is completely different from that of people in the Americas. Secondly, our strategy of training players from a young age is not the same as that of Europe or Brazil, whose players are trained from a young age with an extremely good training strategy. For Vietnamese players to play well, it's not just about having good technical skills, but we must improve their physical condition first, and only then can we think about training and technical skills. On the other hand, we must reach the level of Japan and South Korea first; we cannot yet compare ourselves to Europe or the Americas. That is extremely important. We need a strategy, and we must invest a lot of money in football to bridge the gap in physical condition and technical skills, so that we can first participate in the ASEAN Cup in Asia, and only then can we dream of reaching the higher level of the World Cup.

PV:How does Cong Vinh manage his schedule to watch this World Cup?

Le Cong Vinh:Now that all the leagues around the world are on break, only Vietnam is still competing, so it will be very difficult for the players to follow the matches. Vinh's view is that he must fulfill his duties to the team first, and when things are better, he will definitely dedicate more time to watching the games.

PV:Thank you, Le Cong Vinh!

Duc Dung