Stories before and after the AFF Cup 2018 final
(Baonghean.vn) - Although Mr. Park and his colleagues have prepared quite carefully for the AFF Cup 2018 final at My Dinh Stadium, VFF officials still have many psychological preparations for the players.
To “break the curse” of My Dinh, before the match against the Philippines, VFF had moved several soccer balls around My Dinh Stadium. No one knows the truth, but many people believe that, with the Vietnamese team not being “sleep paralysis”, winning 2 consecutive matches, the “bad luck” of the balls has been decided.
To succeed must be sincere.
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| The chain balls at My Dinh Stadium have been moved. Photo: Internet |
VFF also took a positive action by inviting all the AFF Cup 2008 champions 10 years ago to visit, encourage their juniors and be present at My Dinh Stadium to watch the match. Obviously, the appearance of Thanh Luong, Viet Thang, Duc Cuong, Quang Thanh, Duong Hong Son... - the "golden generation" of the past has inspired the juniors to be confident before going on the field. I don't know if any of the Vietnamese national team players slept well this time, but most of the seniors shared that they hardly slept the night before the final match.
The fact that VFF moved the team to La Thanh Hotel - where 10 years ago Quang Hai and his teammates stayed before the historic final match at My Dinh Stadium at AFF Cup 2008, driving to the stadium through Thanh Cong area (Ba Dinh) shows how carefully the preparation was. Many players of the Vietnamese team were excited to know the careful preparation of the logistics department for the team this time. Fun information on the sidelines said that, in addition to choosing the route, VFF also "calculated" the departure time, choosing a "luck" that was compatible with Coach Park's age!
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| The Vietnamese team's championship is completely deserved. Photo: Trung Kien |
Fair-Play Award AFF Cup 2018
Quite surprisingly, at the end of the tournament, the Organizing Committee awarded the Most Fair Play Team award to the Malaysian team, much to the surprise of the participants themselves. Remember, Malaysia was the team that received the most yellow cards with 19 yellow cards and 2 red cards at the AFF Cup 2018.
In the second leg of the final on the evening of December 15, Iranian referee Alireza Faghani issued 13 yellow cards, with Malaysia receiving 7, including 2 consecutive cards for central defender Shahrul Saad, leaving the team with only 10 players in the final minutes of injury time. Previously, in the first leg of the final at home, Malaysian players also received 5 yellow cards. Malaysian players tackled the ball like Kung-fu fighters, causing Quang Hai and Van Hau to be constantly on the ground.
In addition, in the two semi-final matches against Thailand, coach Tan Cheng Hoe's students also received 4 yellow cards, of which Syahmi Safari received an indirect red card in the 4th minute of extra time in the second leg at Rajamangala Stadium.
Surprisingly, when answering the Malaysian media, Coach Tan Cheng Hoe surprised everyone by "accusing" the Vietnamese players of deliberately playing rough, causing many Malaysian players to be injured in the first leg and said that this came from the instructions of Coach Park Hang-seo. Mr. Tan even said that he would tell his players to restrain themselves and not retaliate to avoid "falling into the trap" of the Vietnamese team at My Dinh.
Thai press bitterly said: "No matter how many red cards and yellow cards, the Fair-Play AFF Cup 2018 must end."Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)where AFF headquarters is located".
Controversial debate
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| Quang Hai deserves to be in the best squad of AFF Cup 2018. Photo: Trung Kien |
In fact, there are many controversies in evaluating players. The famous sports channel ESPN has announced the best squad of the AFF Cup 2018. With excellent performances in the AFF Cup 2018, especially in the group stage (keeping a clean sheet), Dang Van Lam of the Vietnam national team deserves to be the best goalkeeper. In addition to Dang Van Lam, 3 other Vietnamese players were selected: Nguyen Quang Hai, Nguyen Cong Phuong and Phan Van Duc.
Among them, ESPN experts rate Quang Hai as one of the two best attacking midfielders alongside Sanrawat Dechmitr of the Thai national team. The best defensive midfielder position belongs to Syamer Kutty Abba of Malaysia.
But none of the three names that made the AFF Cup 2018 championship, Ngoc Hai, Dinh Trong and Duy Manh, were chosen, even though Fox Sport Asia said they were the "musketeers".
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| Que Ngoc Hai demonstrates his courage and high expertise. Photo: Trung Kien |
According to ESPN, the four best defenders of the tournament are Martin Steuble (Philippines), Pansa Hemviboon (Thailand) and the Malaysian duo Aidil Zafuan and Syahmi Safari. Meanwhile, Aidil Zafuan and Syahmi Safari are the players that the Vietnamese strikers have forced into the net 5 times after 3 matches.
However, everyone must admit that Mr. Park, midfielder Quang Hai and the Vietnamese team are the best individuals and teams at the AFF Cup!