Coach Park Hang Seo will lose sleep over these statistics before the AFF Cup 2018
(Baonghean.vn) - While the Thai national team has won the Southeast Asian championship five times, Vietnam has only won once in 2008 and finished second 10 years earlier. However, the number of times they have reached the semi-finals of the regional tournament is equal.
First player to score in the tournament: K. Sanbagaraman (Malaysia)
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The AFF Cup, the biggest football tournament in Southeast Asia, started in 1996. After 75 minutes of play, the Tiger Cup (the predecessor of the AFF Cup) had its opening goal thanks to Sanbagaraman's goal against the host team Singapore. However, the nearly 44,000 home fans were still smiling after Fandi Ahmad scored an equalizer in the last minute of the match. However, Singapore was still eliminated from the group stage, while Malaysia advanced to the semi-finals. Photo: AFF Cup. |
Only tournament with a goal in every game: 1996
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Surprisingly, the first tournament was the only one in which every match had a goal. In that year, there was no match where spectators had to sit through the 75th minute to see a goal. The first goalless draw was in 1998 in the group stage between Malaysia and Laos in Hanoi, followed shortly after by a match where both goalkeepers kept a clean sheet between Vietnam and Singapore at the same stadium. 2007 was even worse, with four matches without a goal. Photo: AFF Cup. |
Top scorer in a match: Noh Alam Shah (Singapore)
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In 1997, Shah made his name in the record books with seven goals against Laos in one match and a total of 10 goals in the tournament. Interestingly, no team in the tournament surpassed Shah's individual scoring record. Runner-up Thailand and semi-finalist Vietnam only scored 10 goals, while Malaysia and Indonesia had six goals each. Meanwhile, the Philippines left the tournament without scoring a single goal. Photo: AFF Cup. |
Coach with most championships: Raddy Avramovic (Singapore team)
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The Serbian coach holds the record of 3 championships with the Lion Island in 2004, 2007 and 2012. Along with that, coaches Peter Withe and Kiatisuk Senamuang also won a double with Thailand. |
The only African coach: Hatem Soussi (2nd from left)
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The Southeast Asian Football Championship has attracted many coaches from all over the world, but there has only been one coach from the black continent, Mr. Soussi from Tunisia. Soussi was assigned the mission of leading Malaysia to the championship in 1998. However, he only brought disappointment with poor performance: losing 0-2 to Singapore, drawing 0-0 with Laos and losing 0-1 to Vietnam. Photo: Rizalhashim Blogspot. |
Coach with most teams: David Booth (3 teams)
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In 1996, the Englishman led Brunei to just one AFF Cup match, then took over as head coach of Myanmar in the 2000 and 2002 campaigns. Booth appeared again at the AFF Cup in 2010, coaching Laos in a famous 2-2 draw with Thailand. Photo: AFF Cup. |
Most winning team: Thailand (5 times)
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In the 11 times it has been held, Thailand is the team that has won the most championships with 5 championships in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2014 and most recently 2016. The "War Elephants" are also the team that has reached the finals the most times (8 times), including 3 runner-up finishes in 2007, 2008 and 2012. Photo: AFF Cup. |
Teams with the most semi-finals: Thailand and Vietnam (9 times)
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While Thailand has reached the finals 8 times, Vietnam has lost in the semi-finals 6 times, missing the most chances to play in the final match. Vietnam has only won the championship once in 2008, finished second in 1998 and ranked third 6 times in 1996, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2014 and 2016. Photo: AFF Cup. |
Runner-up: Indonesia (5 times)
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The archipelago nation has fallen on the threshold of glory five times in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2016, losing three times to Thailand. Despite being in the top four teams eight times, Indonesia has never won the tournament. That is why the country that just hosted the ASIAD is so determined to win the AFF Cup this year. Photo: Internet |
Team with best home record: Thailand
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Thailand rarely make mistakes when supported by their home fans. Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok is where the Thais play most of their home matches, including the finals that brought them to the championship in 2000, 2014 and 2016. In 24 home matches, Thailand have only lost once, in the first leg of the final against Vietnam in 2008, when Le Cong Vinh scored the decisive goal to make it 2-1 for the visitors. In this year's group stage, Thailand also had the advantage of playing 3 out of 4 matches at home because Timor Leste's stadium was not qualified to host the competition. Photo: AFF Cup. |

Missing the AFF Cup 2018, Ho Khac Ngoc makes the audience "crazy" about the amateur football field
The talented midfielder of SLNA had a debut in the HPL playground in the most impressive way when he contributed greatly to Van Minh's 4-2 victory over Cuong Quoc on the opening day of the HPL-S6 amateur football tournament.