VietNamNet Bridge – The U-13 Viettel football team beat Sagawa Shiga 2-1 and Tucano B 3-2 in the Jubilo Cup, an international football tournament for teenagers, which kicked off in Japan yesterday, Aug 22.

Teenage kicks: U-13 Viettel players train at the Ha Noi centre. The team were invited to compete in the Jubilo Cup, an international football tournament for teenagers held in Japan. (Photo: VNS)
The 18-member squad were drawn to compete against Jubilo Namadu, Sagawa Shiga, Tucano B and the All Western Club during the six-day competition.

This is the first time that a teenage Vietnamese team has been invited to take part at an international event.

The Ha Noi-based team won the national U-13 Yamaha Cup last month after finishing as runners-up in the 2010 National Juniors Football Championship.

During June this year, the team also participated in the ASEAN Football Festival in Malaysia.

"Jubilo Cup in Japan will provide our kids with a good opportunity to test their football skills against international players," team coach Nguyen Minh Tien said at a seeing-off ceremony held in Ha Noi on Sunday.

Only the very best players were selected from a group of 60 juniors, currently undergoing training at the Viettel Football Centre in Ha Noi, one of the first football training centres in the capital to offer seven-year scholarships to kids aged between 11-17.

The best scholars stand a chance to join the Viettel squad itself or other V-League teams upon graduation.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News