V-League the No.1 in Southeast Asia: Indonesia coach

The top-tier football league in Vietnam, V-League, is the number one in Southeast Asia in terms of attraction and quality of competition, said Indonesia’s head coach Alfred Riedl.

The Austrian-born man, who has 14 years of working as coaches in Vietnam, Laos, and Indonesia, said footballers in Vietnam are paid higher salary and bonus than other nations in the region.

“It has drawn qualified players from Thailand, Singapore or Indonesia to enlist for V-League in Vietnam,” he said.

“Payment for domestic players in Vietnam is also higher than in Indonesia. That helps motivate players to strive to demonstrate themselves on the pitch to deserve the payment.”

The 62-year-old coach agreed that violence, match fixing and quality of referees have degraded football development but these problems are universal, not unique to Vietnam.

“In Indonesia, violence is even more serious than in Vietnam and referees seem unable to control it,” Riedl said.

Coach Riedl had three spells of training the Vietnamese national team, from 1998 – 2001, 2003-04, and 2005-07. He later came to Laos in 2009 and worked with Indonesia from 2010.

Mango Bay Cup 2011 for expat footballers

Mango Bay Phu Quoc, a resort that recently featured in the prestigious British publication Condé Nast Traveller, will host the fourth annual six-a-side football tournament for the expatriate community in Vietnam on May 7.

Mango Bay Vietnam's «Champions League» will take place at the Cua Can Stadium on the island. Eight teams will take part this year, competing on a new pitch and for a bigger trophy.

Each team of 10 will have to pay a registration fee of US$150.

The players can enjoy a special BBQ night at a reduced rate of $12 per person while it will be $15 for non-players accompanying the teams.

Ronan Le Bihan, Mango Bay's general manager, enthuses: «we expect this year our football tournament to attract not only the usual suspects from previous years but also newcomers.

« I see it as one of the best ways to socialize and get to know each other better».

After a day of playing, the footballers can head for Mango Bay's spa overlooking the beach for full body massage that costs $20.

To celebrate this event, Mango Bay is offering a special promotion of «stay three nights, pay for two» with rooms and bungalows starting from $40 to $75 respectively.

Mango Bay, www.mangobayphuquoc.com, has 37 rooms and bungalows.

V-League defending champion suffera first loss

Defending champions Hanoi T & T lost 2-0 to Da Nang in the third round early match at Hang Day stadium yesterday

T & T dominated the game and created several chances to score.

In the 14th minute, Van Quyet had the ball in Da Nang’s goal but was ruled out by the referee as one T & T’s player was fouled by the guest defender before that. The guests received only a free kick and Hong Minh shot over the crossbar. In the 30th minute, Ngoc Duy’s free kick shot was saved by Da Nang’s keeper Thanh Binh.

In the first half, Da Nang missed the real chance to open the scoring when Hernandez’s powerful strike was saved by goalie Hong Son.

After the break, T & T continued to dominate the game, but they missed several chances to score. In the 48th minute, Matias’ header was blocked by Da Nang defender and Gonzalo’s header in the 63rd minute was saved by the guest keeper.

Da Nang took the lead in the 65th minute when Thanh Hung scored the opener.

In the 80th minute, Vietnamese top striker Le Cong Vinh who suffered an injury for 10 months came off the bench and the match became more exciting. In the 81st minute, Si Cuong shot over the crossbar and Benecio headed wide of the visitors’ post three minutes later.

Gaston Merlo scored the second goal in injury time, sealing a 2-0 victory for Da Nang.

Today there are six matches: Hanoi ACB vs Hoang Anh Gia Lai; Binh Duong - Khanh Hoa; Ninh Binh - Dong Tam Long An; Navibank Saigon -Thanh Hoa; Song Lam Nghe An - Hoa Phat Hanoi; Hai Phong - Dong Thap

Vietnam prepares for upcoming sports events

The country’s sports forces vowed to turn 2011 into a successful year for sports at the annual meeting of the Vietnam Olympic Committee (VOC), held in Hanoi on February 18.

According to the reports of the VOC, 2011 is an important year to implement the Sports Strategic Plan for the period 2010-2020, which was approved by the Prime Minister.

Under the plan, Vietnam’s national teams are expected to participate in a series regional and international sporting events in 2011, such as the 26th South East Asia (SEA) Games, the 6th ASEAN Para Games in Indonesia and the 16th ASEAN University Games in Laos.

The national Olympic team will compete for tickets to the London Olympics in 2012. At the same time, the country needs to start making preparations to host the fifth Asian Beach Games (ABG 5) in 2016, which is expected to raise the country’s sports foundation to a new height and also launch the campaign to host the 18th ASIAD in 2019.

The ABG 5 is scheduled to be held in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa.

Vietnamese sports needs roadmap for development

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan had a working session with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on February 17.

He praised the Ministry’s achievements in 2010 and urged it to clarify its plans for sports development, including its roadmap for training in the next 10 years and overall budget for organising important international sports festival such as SEA Games and Asian Games.

Regarding tourism, Mr Nhan said the Ministry should cooperate with local authorities in improving tourism services through advertising and marketing in line with plans for preservation

He asked the Ministry to prepare and submit a draft plan for sustainable development of Vietnamese families in the next three years.