VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s top striker Le Cong Vinh has joined the national team in Hanoi to prepare for the ASEAN Football Cup (AFF Cup) 2010.
 

Le Cong Vinh and his doctor.

 

Vinh returned to Vietnam on October 10 after undergoing surgeries in Portugal. He stayed in Nha Trang city for a week to practice following a program exclusively designed for him by his Portuguese doctor Luis Alberto.

He went to Hanoi on October 18 to group up with the national squad. While his teammates will practice with coach Henrique Calisto, Vinh will work with his own expert, Alberto, in order to regain his strength and skills.

The national team began training/practising on October 20.

The AFF Cup is a biennial football competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation and attended by the national teams of Southeast Asia.

Indonesia and Vietnam have been chosen as co-hosts for the group stage of the AFF Cup 2010. None is a first-timer when it comes to hosting this event. Indonesia co-hosted the tournament in 2002 and 2008 while Vietnam was the host in 1998 and a co-host in 2004.

A qualifying round will be held from 22 - 30 October 2010 in Vientiane, Laos.

Cambodia, Laos, Philippines and Timor Leste will compete in a round-robin tournament for the two remaining spots in the tournament proper.

A total of eight teams will vie for the AFF Cup trophy and US$100,000 in prize money from 1 – 29 December 2010.

The top two teams from the qualifiers will join the top six seeded ASEAN nations - Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to make up the final field of eight nations. The Semi-finals & Finals will be played on a home and away format.

PV