VietNamNet Bridge – Football, known as the king of Vietnam’s sports, experienced a sad and happy year, with the success of the U19 team, and both success and failure at the AFF Cup and Asian Games. However, match-fixing in the V-League was the low point of the year.

1. U19 wins heart of fans

U19 team's Cong Phuong.

Established with core players from Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) Arsenal JMG Academy, U19 Vietnam suddenly became a phenomenon, attracting the special attention of fans thanks to the philosophy of attacking football, fair play, and a nice attitude.

In 2014, the team ranked second at the U19 Southeast Asian tournament and the Brunei King Cup. After failure in the Asia U19 finals, key members such as Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong and Tuan Anh joined the U21 International Championship held in Can Tho City and won the championship.

"Nowhere in the world with a young football team has such passionate fans as U19 Vietnam," said coach Guillaume Graechen after seeing a full 40,000-seat My Dinh stadium, the long queues of fans in front of ticket counters, and the red color of the Vietnamese national flag and T-shirts worn by Vietnamese fans at foreign stadiums, where U19 played.

In that swirl of attention, U19 captain Nguyen Cong Phuong, however, was suspected of cheating the audience by declaring the wrong age. The authorities investigated and stated that Phuong was truly born in 1995.

2. Match-fixing at V-League

Ninh Binh’s midfielder Tran Manh Dung was sentenced to 30 months in prison for match-fixing.

In early April, a group of players of Ninh Binh FC were found involved in a match-fixing case in a game against Kelantan FC of Malaysia, at AFC Cup.

A total of nine people went on trial and Ninh Binh’s midfielder Tran Manh Dung was identified as the mastermind and sentenced to 30 months in prison. After this scandal, Ninh Binh withdrew from the V-League but kept playing at the AFC Cup and stopped in the quarterfinals.

After that, six players of Dong Nai FC were arrested after the game against Quang Ninh on July 20. This group was alleged to have received VND400 million ($20,000) to lose in the game. While the case was under investigation, Dong Nai continued to play in the V-League 2014 and despite the absence of the six pillars, it successfully stayed with the V-League.

In both cases, the players involved were banned from playing football by both the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for a long time. Vietnam’s football image in the eyes of international friends was again tarnished.

3. Women's football team misses World Cup

The women's national football team.

Defeating Jordan 3-1, Vietnam took the card to the play-off game to the 2015 World Cup. The chance to join the World Cup had never been so close to Vietnam but the team failed to realize its dream after being trounced by Thailand 1-2. The Chinese coach Chen Yun Fat then left the team after seven years.

4. Vietnam makes breakthrough at Asiad 17

Vietnam's top swimmer Anh Vien.

The Vietnam sports delegation brought home 36 medals from the 2014 Incheon Asian Games in South Korea, including one gold, 10 silver and 25 bronze medals, ranking 21st out of 36 delegates and 6th in Southeast Asia, behind Thailand (12 gold medals), Malaysia (5) , Singapore (5), Indonesia (4), and Myanmar (2).

The only gold medal of wushu artist Duong Thuy Vi was not enough to help Vietnam reach its medal target, but this tournament was not an entire failure for the team.

For the first time in history, Vietnam won a bronze medal for swimming at the Asian Games when Anh Vien ranked third in the women’s 400-meter mixed category. Other highlights included: Weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan’s record in the men’s 56kg category, the men’s football team for the first time entering the quarterfinal, and Phan Thi Ha Thanh winning of the first medal for Vietnam’s gymnastics.

5. National football team’s tragedy at AFF Cup 2014

Despite unexpected success of the Olympic team at the Asian Games, Vietnam was not highly appreciated before the AFF Cup 2014. The pessimistic attitude came from the decline in the quality of the V-League and the limited experience of Japanese coach Toshiya Miura, who just started his job six months before the tournament.

Vietnam was a big surprise at AFC Cup when it ranked first in Group A. However, when the fans’ expectations reached their peak, the team disappointed them after being defeated by Malaysia in the semifinals.

Pham Hung