Vietnam to play Malaysia in Under 21 tournament opening match

Vietnam play Malaysia in the opener of the 2011 U.21 International Football Tournament in the Central Highlands town of Pleiku on September 25.

 

According to the fixtures announced by Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on Wednesday, Vietnam, Malaysia and Qatari sports center Aspire are in Group A while Iran, Thailand and Singapore are in Group B.

The teams will play round robin league matches and the best two teams from each group will play in the semifinals of the fifth edition of the football event sponsored by Thanh Nien.

The tournament, which offers a total cash prize of US$50,000, will run until October 4.

Vietnam club demands $2m from Atletico Madrid's new player

Though he is offically with Spain’s top-tier club Atlectico Madrid now, Nigerian striker Samson Kayode Olaleye must pay the Vietnamese football club Hanoi T&T at least US$2 million if he wants to play in Europe.

Olaleye is in trouble because he received a large amount of cash from Hanoi T&T and signed a memorandum of understanding with this team, which said he would play for them after completing his contract with Dong Thap at the end of the 2011 season.

The 22-year-old Nigerian footballer was a key striker of V-League club Dong Thap in the 2010 and 2011 seasons; and is considered one of the best players in the tournament.

His excellent performance attracted the attention of some brokers who recommended him to Atlectico Madrid, who signed a contract with him as a free player a couple of weeks ago because his contract with Dong Thap had ended.

After signing with him, Atlectico Madrid lent Olaleye to Portugal’s club Sporting Braga for a season and his name is now on the list of the Portuguese club although he still hasn't received a shirt number.

However, despite leaving Vietnam before the 2011 V-League season ended late last month, Olaleye can’t play for Sporting Braga because the Vietnam Football Federation hasn’t issued an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) to him.

On learning about Olaleye’s signing with Aletico, Hanoi T&T’s first reaction was to inform Vietnam Football Federation of the case and to ask the federation not to issue an ITC to the Nigerian striker unless he compensates the club for breaking the agreement.

According to Hanoi T&T, six months before Olaleye’s contract with Dong Thap ended, Hanoi T&T talked with the Nigerian player through broker Tran Tien Dai.

Olaleye agreed to play for Hanoi T&T for three years with a monthly salary of $10,000. He also received $300,000 in advance for agreeing to play for the club. He and broker Tran Tien Dai signed a memorandum of understanding for those terms and more.

Despite agreeing to play for Hanoi T&T, Olaleye also nodded when another team, Binh Duong, suggested talks about his future. He didn’t sign any paper with Binh Duong but he is said to have received a  large amount of cash from the 2007-08 V-League champs as well.

Later, however, Olaleye seems to have conveniently forgotten his agreements in Vietnam when he signed with Spain’s capital club.

Without an ITC, the Nigerian striker cannot play in Europe. That was why he returned to Vietnam last week to discuss the problem with Hanoi T&T.

Hanoi T&T President Nguyen Quoc Hoi said, “Samson Kayode Olaleye can go but things must be settled in accordance with the rules. He was wrong, so rules must be applied.

“He must pay Hanoi T&T at least two million US dollars and other additional fines. Only then can he become a free player.”

Navibank to represent Vietnam at AFC Cup

Navibank Sai Gon will represent Viet Nam at the Asian Football Confederation Cup next year, after winning the National Cup on Saturday.

Navibank defeated Song Lam Nghe An 3-0 on their home turf, Thong Nhat Stadium, to take their first title since 1991.

Navibank's striker Nguyen Quang Hai opened the score in the 37th minute of the match, after missing several chances.

Navibank's spirit was invigorated after the goal, while the players on Song Lam Nghe An were visibly disheartened.

Their disappointing performance caused a loosening of the defensive line, which let a second goal through just five minutes later.

Cao Quang Huong made a beautiful shot off the box, which flew over the outstretched arms of Nghe An's goalie Nguyen Duc Thang.

Although the host then slowed down the pace of the game, the new V-league champions failed to take back control of the match.

Keeper Nguyen The Anh had a leisurely game and Navibank defenders did not have to expend too much energy to stop Nghe An's attacks.

The second half of the match saw not much change, although coach Nguyen Huu Thang had more than 10 minutes to adjust his tactics as well as encourage his players.

Just nine minutes after the break, Huong doubled his goal tally, taking advantage of a sudden opening.

The midfielder – in an attempt to pass the ball into the box – made an errant kick that went over keeper Thang's reach before entering the net.

"I have to say thank you to all players on my team who performed at their best to secure this title. It's been 10 years since we've held this cup. I and the team are proud to do it for the (HCM) city," said coach Mai Duc Chung.

Meanwhile coach Thang regretted that he could not secure a title double this season after the loss.

"It was a pity that we could not win the second tournament, but we have to accept that because it was a good game.

"We lost because of some key players including captain Nguyen Huy Hoang," he said.

The two teams will meet for a second time in the Super Cup match, which has not yet been scheduled.

Brunei to play Vietnam in U-19 AFF Cup opening match

Vietnam will clash with Brunei in the opener of the Under-19 ASEAN Football Federtion (AFF) championships in Yangoon, Myanmar on September 8.

An AFF release Tuesday said Vietnam will play hosts Myanmar on the 10^th, Indonesia on the 12^th and Laos on the 16^th of September in Group B in the fight for a semifinal berth.

In Group A, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and the Philippines will compete for the other two berths semifinal berths.

The semifinals will be played on 19^th September and the finals on 21^st.

Vietnam aims to advance to the last four at least in the tournament. The team has not done too well in the last two years, finishing third and fourth on 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Vietnam preparing for SEA Games

The Vietnam national U23 football team will be playing in two tournaments as part of their preparations for the 26th SEA Games which will be hosted by Indonesia at the end of the year.

The first tournament will be for the Ho Chi Minh City Cup that will be held at the Thong Nhat Stadium on 28 September to 2 October 2011.

The Vietnam U23 team will be up against the Singapore U23 squad, the Syrian Olympic team and the Republic of Korea’s student team.

Then later in the month on 19-23 October 2011, the Vietnamese squad will take part in the VFF Son Ha Cup in Hanoi where they will take on the U23 teams from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

The event will be played out at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.

Falko Goetz, the chief coach of Vietnam, will announce the shortlist of 30 players for the Vietnam U23 squad next week.

Vietnam beats Cambodia twice in friendly

The Vietnam Under-19 team preparing for the AFF U19 Championship next month could not have got a better preparatory ground than  beating their Cambodian counterparts twice in a row.

In the first match that was played at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, the Vietnam U19 squad scored a 2-1 win over Cambodia before overwhelming the same with a 3-0 scoreline.

The AFF U19 Championship has been slated for 8-21 September in Yangon, Myanmar.