VietNamNet Bridge – Alfred Riedl has told people not to call Nguyen Huu Thang his player anymore, since Thang is now a colleague.

Alfred Riedl (left) says his former striker Le Cong Vinh (right) is a sharp scorer in Viet Nam squad. — Photo vietnamnet.vn

Years ago, Riedl was head coach of the Viet Nam national football team and Thang was one of his key defenders.

Time has clearly flown.

Riedl is now coach of the Indonesian squad and Thang manages Viet Nam. The two teams will play each other in the semi-finals of the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup on December 3.

In their latest encounter last month as preparation for the Cup, Indonesia drew one match with Viet Nam and lost the other.

Riedl at that time said Thang was a talented coach. Under his guidance, Viet Nam were one of the title favourites for the biennial tournament.

Riedl, who was called ‘king of second place’ by Vietnamese fans, took charge of the Viet Nam team on three occasions — in 1998-2000, 2003-04 and 2005-07. His best result was second position at the AFF Cup and the SEA Games. During his first Tiger Cup (now the AFF Cup) in 1998, captain Thang was one of his favourite players.

In between, Riedl also coached Khanh Hoa (2001) and Hai Phong (2008) in the V.League.

The Austrian coach also has a Vietnamese kidney donated by a huge fan during his time here. His love for the country is evident — he has a house decorated in the Vietnamese style in his home town of Viena.

It will be the first meeting between Riedl and Thang at an official tournament, but it is the second time Riedl with Indonesia will face Viet Nam since he left the side.

At the AFF Cup in 2014, Indonesia drew 2-2 against Viet Nam, under Japanese Toshiya Miura in the group round, which saw Viet Nam in top position and Indonesia getting disqualified.

In that match, striker Le Cong Vinh and centre back Que Ngoc Hai scored two goals for Viet Nam.

At this Saturday’s game, Riedl will have a chance to meet these scorers again, along with midfielders Nguyen Van Quyet and Pham Thanh Luong, all of whom are at peak performance and excited for a win.

Riedl said Viet Nam who won all three out of three matches in the group round were stronger than his team. He affirmed that Indonesia would face a lot of difficulty in the two semifinal matches.

He also appreciated playmaker Vinh, also a player under his responsibility in the past.

In 2003, Riedl called up the then unknown Vinh to the U23 team, an important turning point in the latter’s life. Since then, Vinh has become a familiar face of the national team and the most famous footballer of the country.

Riedl said he knew how outstanding Vinh was. He had good speed and was born with the skills of a goal scorer.

At this year’s cup, Vinh netted the ball twice and had nine key passes.

Meanwhile, coach Thang also showed his respect for his former coach.

“Riedl is always a coach who I respect a lot. He is a very professional manager who creates a friendly atmosphere for players, but he is also really serious in training and gave us stern orders. We worked hard for Viet Nam’s success in the late 1990s,” Thang said.

Thang and his team arrived in Indonesia on November 30, three days ahead of their match at the 30,000-capacity Pakansari Stadium in Bogor, 50km from Jakarta.

VNS