Painful loss to U15 Vietnam, Spanish coach reassures Thai fans

(Baonghean.vn) - After losing to U15 Vietnam in the final match of the 2017 Southeast Asian U15 Football Championship, coach Salvador Valero Garcia had to apologize to calm the shock of his home fans.

Meeting Vietnam in the final match, U15 Thailand held U15 Vietnam to a draw after 80 minutes of official play. In the 2 halves with no clear winner, it was Thailand who faced a lot of pressure from coach Vu Hong Viet's students. And in the nerve-wracking penalty shootout, U15 Vietnam was more courageous and won with a score of 4-2. Thereby, Thai fans had to witness Vietnam winning the championship right on their home field.

Young Thai players collapsed after the final match with Vietnam. Photo: VFF

Responding on the homepage of the Football Association of Thailand (FA Thailand), coach Salvador Valero Garcia expressed disappointment when his students "collapsed at the gates of heaven". However, he still expressed pride in all of his students.

The Spaniard said: “Obviously I am disappointed that we lost on penalties. Because to be in the final, we beat all the opponents. But the Thai U15 players tried very hard and I am proud of them. I want to thank the fans who came to cheer us in all the matches.

We will not despair and will come back stronger. We had prepared very carefully for the penalty shootout before the match even started but the result on the field was not as expected.

Coach Salvador Valero Garcia declared that he will not despair after the defeat against U15 Vietnam. Photo: FA Thailand

Emotions and pressure caused the U15 Thailand team to fail. We prepared very carefully for the match against Vietnam. This is a lesson and we will improve in the future. Even though we failed, we will not be discouraged because there are still many other opportunities. Of course, the goal will be to win the championship in the following tournaments."

“I would like to apologize to the fans because this time U15 Thailand made them feel disappointed. I really apologize once again,” the Spanish coach affirmed. Emotions and pressure caused U15 Thailand to fail. Before the match against Vietnam, we prepared very carefully. This is an expensive lesson and we will improve in the future. Even though we failed, we will not be discouraged because there are still many other opportunities. Of course, the goal will be to win the championship in the following tournaments.”

Mr. Salvador Valero Garcia (born 1961) was a Spanish national team player in 1983 and 1984. During his football career, Salvador Garcia played as a defender for Barcelona and Barcelona B./.

Trung Kien