Son, Cham take Golden Balls

ED NOTE: Something I don't have.

National team goalkeeper Duong Hong Son and striker Do Thi Ngoc Cham on March 23 won their first Golden Ball awards for outstanding contributions to Vietnamese men’s and women’s football in the year 2008.

The prestigious award was instituted by the Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper.

Son, a 27-year-old native of Nghe An province who plays for the T&T Hanoi football club, beat his national teammates in the running: defender Vu Nhu Thanh and striker Le Cong Vinh to win the award for the first time.

Becamex Binh Duong Football Club defender Vu Nhu Thanh ranked second for the Silver Ball while striker Le Cong Vinh came third for the Bronze Ball award.

Hanoian striker Do Thi Ngoc Cham, 24, from Hanoi, won the Golden Ball for the first time.

The Silver Ball went to Dao Thi Mien of Hoa Hop Hanoi, while winger Tran Thi Kim Hong from HCM City bagged the Bronze Ball.

Earlier this month, the winners of Junior Footballer and Foreign Player of the Year were announced, with midfielder Pham Thanh Luong of Hanoi ACB and Brazilian striker Almeida Jose De Emidio of SHB Da Nang taking the honours.

The 15th anniversary of the Golden Ball award will be celebrated next year. The first award was won by the national team’s former striker, Le Huynh Duc, in 1995, when he played for former HCM Police team.

Int'l media: The Shock named Vietnam

History names Vietnam” is the headline of one of the many articles in foreign newspapers about the victory of the Vietnamese national football squad in the AFF Cup 2008.

Goal.com: A new dawn for Vietnam

Goal.com, a football news site, which always follows the AFF Cup, immediately congratulated Vietnam after the second leg of the final on Sunday. Nearly 1,000 readers of this football news website sent comments on the victory of Vietnam.

After the first leg of the final, Goal.com’s John Duerden warned: “That one night in Bangkok means that the players and coach can be satisfied, but any resting on their laurels will be a big mistake”.

However, after the second leg, he wrote: “It was team spirit, hard work and organisation that took Vietnam to the final and like all teams that win tournaments, they played good at the right time and got better as the competition progressed. A 2-1 win in Bangkok in the first leg of the final was a surprise for the hosts but Thailand was facing a different team than the one they defeated in the group stage.

“The trophy is the first major prize that the nation has won. And, as of this morning, Vietnam fans can say that the team has finally emerged as a player on the regional scene. It was done in style as Vietnam defeated the only two past winners of the trophy on their way to their triumph. The trick now though is to sustain this success. One way will be to keep the canny Calisto. The Portuguese tactician has transformed Vietnam, always a hard-working and passionate team, into a well-organised and more intelligent outfit,” John wrote.

However, he warned Vietnam that “Hanoi has long been a tough place for other teams to visit but now, Vietnam is capable of winning anywhere in South East Asia. But that is only the first step. Next comes qualification for the 2011 Asian Cup and a group that contains China, Syria and Lebanon.”

Reuters: Vietnam win their first international title
Reuters’ John Ruwitch was impressed by the enthusiasm and passion for football of millions of Vietnamese people. “Tens of thousands of people poured onto the grid-locked streets of Hanoi, waving flags, sounding horns and beating together pots and pans in wild celebration of the country’s first international title,” he wrote.

“Vinh buried Thailand’s hopes of a fourth title when he flicked the ball into the top corner to stun the visitors and trigger mass revelry at a sellout My Dinh Stadium.”

ESPN Soccernet: Late winner seals trophy
The site has a big article about the second leg of the final. ESPN expressed sympathy for Thailand that it didn’t get the trophy though it tried its best.

“Le Cong Vinh nodded in a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser and Vietnam were crowned Asean champions for the first time after clinching an aggregate victory over three-time winners Thailand in the AFF Suzuki Cup final in Hanoi,” ESPN wrote.

Regional media

Returning to newspapers in the region, channelnewsasia.com wrote: “Vietnam's victory capped one of the most surprising runs in the 12-year history of Southeast Asia's football championship”.

Meanwhile, the Bangkok Post just published the results of the match, without any detail. It was not until Monday noon that it published a commentary entitled “Thai cup quest ends in cruel defeat”.

“It was heartbreak for Thailand as Vietnam won the AFF Suzuki Cup with a dramatic goal in the last minute of injury time in the second leg of the final at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi yesterday,” the newspaper wrote.

It quoted Thailand head coach Peter Reid as saying that "Vietnam deserved to win this match”.

The Straits Times wrote: “Thailand paid dearly for their misfiring and conceded a disputed free kick deep into stoppage time, which Vinh flicked into the net to earn Vietnam their first international title”.

Portuguese media

Newspapers in Portugal reported the victory gained by their coach, Henrique Calisto. The O Jogo ran the headline “Calisto – the hero of Vietnam’s football.” In this article, which was placed on the first page, O Jogo commented: “Calisto has been named into history along with the Vietnamese squad when they beat the former champion Singapore at the semi-final and Thailand at the finals.”

This daily newspaper described the trophy that Calisto and his players won as “A dream that Vietnam has been waiting for several decades.”

In an article named “A Portuguese helps Vietnam win the first int’l trophy,” the A Bola Daily praised: “Calisto has brought fame for Portugal in Southeast when he led the Vietnam team to the victory.”

The Record Daily described the atmosphere in Hanoi and other cities after the winning match “more than the over-enthusiasm that Portuguese shown when they hosted Euro 2004.”

PV

Brazilian soccer stars to play in Vietnam

It's been announced that Brazil's Olympic football team, boasting the likes of Ronaldinho and Robinho, will play Vietnam's full national side in a friendly on the first of next month.

The Vietnam Football Federation says the game will be played at Hanoi's My Dinh stadium.

It says details about ticket prices, and line-ups of both teams will be announced later.

The friendly in Vietnam is part of the Brazil Olympic team's preparations for the Beijing Games, which begin on August the 8th.