Stop complaining and cheer for Vietnam's Olympic competition

Due to problems in the preparation of the host country Indonesia, the training session of coach Park Hang Seo and his team on the afternoon of August 12 was canceled. Instead, the Vietnamese Olympic team had to practice lightly on a cement road next to the hotel where they were stationed.

As of yesterday afternoon, the Vietnam Olympic team still did not have a field that could be considered up to standard for training. The reason was that the field arranged by the organizers was more than 45km away from the hotel. Coach Park Hang Seo said that traveling that far would affect the physical strength of the players. In the end, the Vietnam Olympic team chose a training field in a factory in the area, which was only for workers to practice their health. Because it was not used regularly, the field here was wet in some places, uneven in some places, and the grass was yellow, so sand had to be poured on top and then rolled with a truck.

Samsung factory staff in West Java clean the yard in the factory grounds for the Vietnam Olympic team to have their first and only practice session before the match with Pakistan Olympic team this afternoon. Photo: NP

According to Head of Delegation Duong Vu Lam, the team had to survey 5 football fields near the hotel before deciding on the above field. However, Mr. Lam admitted that the field surface here is not of good quality, and players are very susceptible to injury during practice.

The preparations of the host country Indonesia are indeed problematic, as Coach Park Hang Seo complained yesterday afternoon. However, if the Vietnam Olympic team gets too caught up in complaints, the team's fighting spirit and concentration may be disrupted, first of all in the opening match against Pakistan this afternoon.

In terms of expertise, the possibility of Vietnam Olympic winning is probably quite high. Just looking at the answer of Coach Park Hang Seo yesterday, Vietnam Olympic is quite sure to win. Pakistan has just gone through 3 years of being banned from competing according to FIFA's disciplinary decision.

Evaluating this team through the provided videos, Coach Park Hang Seo only said that they played with determination, some players were also fast, a way of saying that Pakistan did not really make Mr. Park worried. Coach Park Hang Seo even revealed the tactical diagram of Olympic Vietnam when facing the opponent (3-4-3). The question is only how Olympic Vietnam players will perform. A good match can help Olympic Vietnam relieve some of the pressure that has been weighing on them for a long time after the success of U23 Vietnam at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship.

It is not true that we “defend” Indonesia, but not only the Vietnamese Olympic team but also other teams have been affected. Japan even only arrived in West Java at 3am yesterday. And we also need to sympathize with their neighbor, Indonesia is actually just a “firefighting” option of the Olympic Committee of Asia (OCA), after Vietnam withdrew.

In fact, until the opening day, Indonesia is still rushing to complete the final stages of preparation at many competition venues.

The organization capacity may be limited, but the enthusiasm of the host country is hard to criticize. Not counting the delegation members of the countries attending the 2018 Asian Games, the reporters when arriving in Indonesia, right from the Soekarno Hatta International Airport were welcomed and guided carefully.

Coach Park Hang Seo has reason to complain, because he is responsible for worrying about the professional issues of the Vietnam Olympic team. But instead of complaining, let's cheer the team on to compete with the highest spirit when entering the tournament.