Catch mice in the gym

Watch out for any mice and catch them.

Players do warm-up exercises before the match. Photo: Chu Thanh

The 22nd Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament has entered its second day of competition, promising a series of great plays and beautiful goals. Present on the field early to prepare for the match between Yen Thanh Youth Football Team and Hung Nguyen Youth Football Team, the young players took the opportunity to warm up and prepare their physical strength for the match.

In the stands, watching the boys warm up on the field, a young fan of the Yen Thanh team shouted and cheered while asking his mother standing next to him, "What are the boys doing?"

Because of the concentration of shouting and the rather noisy indoor stadium, it seemed that the boy only heard the word "mouse" in the explanation "warming up to avoid cramps", so he innocently asked back "Mom, are there mice to catch in this stadium like in the field at home?". The innocent question of the young fan of the Yen Thanh team made many people around laugh and joke back "remember to pay attention to see if there are any mice and catch them to bring home".

More than 80% are "foreign" young players

Young players of Con Cuong Youth Football Team participate in the 22nd Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament. Photo: Thanh Cuong

“Come on, our team has more than 80% foreign players”, “Give it all”, “Come on”… The enthusiastic cheers from the fans for the young players of the Con Cuong football team. In particular, the cheering phrase “80% foreign players” caught the attention of many people.

It turns out that this year, in the ND Con Cuong team, there are 12 young players, of which 10 are children of ethnic minorities, accounting for 83% of the team.

Coach of the Con Cuong Youth Football Team Cao Xuan Tung said that the children were very happy and excited when they knew they were selected to compete. There were young players from remote villages such as Chom Lom village (25 km from the training site) who still diligently came to practice, not missing a single day with the spirit of winning the 2018 Youth Football Cup Nghe An Newspaper.

My face is not down there, teacher.

The coaches are both teachers and fathers taking care of the young players in each match. Photo: Chu Thanh

In each match, the coach is not only the one who directs and sets out attack and defense strategies for each team, but also the one who encourages and closely takes care of the health of the young players.

However, during the match, there are times when the coach has to take care of the players and observe the situation to give timely instructions. That is why there was a funny situation where the coach wanted to wipe the face of a player who had just left the field, but because he was so engrossed in watching the match, he wiped it wrongly, causing the young player to exclaim, "My face is not down there, teacher!"

Chu Thanh