Vietnam misses chance to play at Asian futsal champs

The Vietnamese futsal was narrowly defeated 3-4 by Australia in the Asian Futsal qualifiers for the Southeast Asian region on February 26.

Australia had a very good start scoring four goals in 35 minutes. Vietnam then counter-attacked and got three goals, with one penalty by Trong Thien and a double by Trong Toan.

The team had been full of hope for a third-position ticket after taking the lead in group B with a 4-0 win against Malaysia, 7-1 win against Cambodia and a 2-2 draw with Australia to avoid Thailand, the strongest opponent and winner of group A.

However, at the semi-final match it also lost 1-2 to Indonesia.

In the final match Thailand thrashed Indonesia 5-2 to top the qualifier.

The Vietnam team is scheduled to compete at the ASEAN Futsal Championship in Thailand from April 17-24.

dtinews.vn

Football federation selects next national coach

Mai Duc Chung has become the No 1 option for head coach of the national football team.

The Vietnam Football Federation's (VFF) National Coaches Council on Feb. 21 officially made its final decision for the position that had been left empty since last December.

VFF leaders are expected to review their selection for approval on February 27.

In case of approval, Chung, in Brunei with the Under-19 team for the Hassanal Bolkiah Cup at present, will sign a two-year contract when he returns to the country. His salary has not been revealed, but rumour has it that it could be around 120-150 million VND (USD5,700-7,100 ) per month.

Chung would reap benefits if Vietnam could achieve good results at coming tournaments, the first one of which will be the Southeast Asian Football Championship – AFF Cup later this year.

After former coach Falko Goetz was fired, Chung became the favourite candidate for the position. The 61-year-old formerly worked as assistant for many foreign coaches in the past.

In 2008, Chung guided the U22 team to win the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia. He was also acting head coach of the U23 team who defeated Lebanon and Oman during the Beijing Olympic qualifiers in 2007. Chung was appointed head coach of the national women's team in 2003-05 when they won two gold medals at the 22nd and 23rd SEA Games.

The council also drew up an additional list of substitute candidates should Chung not sign the contract with the VFF.

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Chelsea coaches to train Vietnamese junior footballers

Your coaches from Chelsea Soccer School will run a training course for 180 junior footballers in Ho Chi Minh City.

The course, the first of its kind in Vietnam, aims to improve professional skills for junior footballers selected from schools in the city.

This is part of a cooperation program between the English football club Chelsea and Samsung sponsor to develop the sports and physical training sector for young generations.

The program involves Vietnam, Ghana, Ivory Coast, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

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Vietnam company begins work on $40-mln airport project in Laos

Work has begun on the first of two airports Vietnam’s Hoang Gia Lai Joint Stock Co. (HAGL) plans to build in Laos, with a total investment of US$40 million, VnExpress reported Monday.

HAGL Chairman Doan Nguyen Duc was quoted as saying that the airport, which will cover 200 hectares of Attapeu Province in southern Laos, is expected to be operational by June 2013.

Between 2013 and 2020 it will be used mainly for small airplanes that travel short distances, like the ATR 72 and Fokker 70, Duc said.

However, by the time construction finishes in 2020, the airport will be capable of handling bigger airplanes like the Airbus A320, he added.

According to Duc, the Lao government also licensed HAGL to build another airport in Huaphanh Province in northern Laos; construction on the second airport will start next year, VnExpress reported.

thanhniennews.com

Athletes to compete in 2012 Asian Indoor Athletics Champs

Four Vietnamese athletes will take part in the 2012 Asian Indoor Athletics Champs, to be held in Hangzhou, China, from February 16-19.

Duong Thi Viet Anh

The team coached by Duong Duc Thuy includes Duong Thi Viet Anh (high jump), Tran Hue Hoa (triple jump), Nguyen Thi Phuong (3,000m run) and Nguyen Thi Thuy (400m run). The team’s medal hopes are mostly on Duong Viet Anh, who has made good progress recently.

Top sprinter Truong Thanh Hang will not join the event because she is preparing for the Asian All Stars Athletics Meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan in June to collect points for a berth at the 2012 London Olympics this summer.

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Barcelona FC opens new programme in Vietnam

The programme of football for society was opened in Hanoi on Jan. 30, under the witness of Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) President Nguyen Trong Hy and Barcelona FC’s representative Marce Xavi.

The programme of football for society was opened in Hanoi on Jan. 30. Photo by TTVH.

The programme aims to discover, train and upgrade football skills for Vietnamese children. All trainers are from Barcelona FC and two classes will be held, with the participation of 300 trainees.

Marce Xavi said the short training course will provide trainees with a philosophy to apply to Vietnamese football.

The three-year programme is expected to attract a large number of students from 6-14 years of age. Apart from studying football skills, the trainees will have the chance to play and exchange with participants from other courses in the country, as well as in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand , Indonesia , and Malaysia , Nguyen Lan Trung, VFF Vice President and Director of the programme said.

The programme may also lead to the discovery of talented players for Vietnam ’s football team.

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Vietnam to host U19 AFF football tourney

Vietnam expects to host the 2012 U19 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championships, according to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

The VFF will invite a football team, from either Uzbekistan, Iran or Qatar, to take part in the tournament, which is scheduled to take place before the final round of the 2012 U19 Asia Football Championship (AFC).

The AFF tourney will see the participation of U19 squads from Vietnam, Thailand and Australia if they qualify for the AFC championship, and a visiting team.

dtinews.vn

Vietnam to host Asian football Olympic playoffs

Vietnam will host the Asian football qualifying playoffs for the London 2012 Olympic Games, says the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

According to the regional governing body for football, Malaysia had previously been chosen to host the event but renovations to the proposed Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur made the AFC eye a new destination for the qualifiers.

As scheduled, runners-up in the three third-round groups will play each other in a round-robin format and the winner will face Senegal in a match for a ticket to London.

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First blood to Barca against Real in Cup

Barcelona came from behind to beat holders Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of an increasingly bad-tempered Spanish Cup quarter-final in the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Barcelona's French defender Eric Abidal (L) celebrates with Brazilian defender Dani Alves after scoring during the Spanish Cup "El clasico" football match Real Madrid vs Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. Barca won 2-1.

Second half goals from veteran defenders Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal overturned a half-time Madrid lead for whom Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo scored.

It was the third victory in twelve months for the Catalans in the stadium of their biggest rival.

Pep Guardiola is yet to lose in the Bernabeu in four seasons in charge and his team appear to have a psychological advantage over 'los blancos'.

Afterwards Guardiola was happy with the victory and looked towards the second leg.

"We played really well tonight, controlled the game and apart from their goal reduced Madrid to the one header from (Karim) Benzema, but because of their quality anything can happen next week so we'll go home and prepare for that and the league game at the weekend," he said.

Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was less satisfied.

"I did not expect to lose a goal to a dead ball as we did, we were winning 1-0 and at that stage it was a bad result for Barca, it was a bad goal to concede. Psycholgically it hurt us and Barca took control of the game from then on," he said.

"The tie is now difficult for us, it's still open, but difficult."

Mourinho surprised all with an unfamiliar side employing both Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain in attack, while at the back playing the rarely used Hamit Altintop and Ricardo Carvalho who was playing his first game since September.

Both teams started very cautiously with Madrid happy to allow Barca possession in deep positions and when the first attack came on 11 minutes it was to bring the first goal of the evening.

Set free by Benzema, Ronaldo produced a stinging left footed drive from the left hand side of the penalty area that Jose Pinto, Barca's regular goalkeeper ahead of Victor Valdes in the Spanish Cup, could perhaps have dealt better with.

The game suddenly burst into life, Andres Iniesta brought a save from Iker Casillas with a long range shot on 13 minutes and three minutes later Cesc Fabregas found Alexis Sanchez in space only for the Chilean to head onto the bar with Casillas stranded.

At the other end Abidal had to make a last ditch block to stop Ronaldo reaching Benzema with the goal at his mercy, then Lionel Messi burst forward for Barca and forced a near post save from Casillas.

Iniesta should have tested Casillas on 30 minutes from close range after Sanchez played him into a great position.

By this stage Barcelona were possessing the ball in deeper positions and Madrid were counter attacking quickly on the break to make the game an open affair.

Barca were finally level three minutes into the second period when captain Puyol got free from his marker Pepe to head home a Xavi corner.

Iniesta went close again on 54 minutes after a quick exchange of passes with Xavi and two minutes later Benzema hit the post for Madrid when found with a sweeping right wing cross from Altintop.

By the hour mark Barca's short passing game was allowing them to control the tie and Mourinho made some changes introducing Jose Callejon and Mesut Ozil.

Pepe should have seen his second yellow card of the night for an off the ball stamp on the hand of a prostrate Messi on 69 minutes.

However it took more than the dark arts to keep down the irrepressible Argentinian and it was he that conjured up the pass on 77 minutes that found Abidal onside and with the time and space to prod the ball home to win the tie.

A familiar silence came down over the Santiago Bernabeu, the home fans had seen it all before and although Madrid tried sporadically for a way back into the game Barca rarely ceded them the ball.

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Hung secures all-around berth to London Olympics

Moving on: Gymnast Pham Phuoc Hung performs in the pommel horse event at the National Gymnastic Championship. He has managed to qualify for this year London Olympics. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Truong

HA NOI — Male gymnast Pham Phuoc Hung secured a place to compete at the London Olympic Games after narrowly making the cut at the Olympic Games Test Event in England on Wednesday.

The qualifying event for the all-round gymnastics competition at the Olympics saw athletes vie for one of 27 tickets to the games. Hung secured the 26th place, becoming the second Vietnamese gymnast to secure a place at the summer Olympics.

Hung has excelled in competitions recently, winning two gold medals at the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia last November.

Hung, 24, who entered the men's gymnastics programme when he was seven, finished fourth in the men's individual parallel bars at the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Portugal.

The Hanoian, who has been training in China since 1998, will be a contender in the men's all-around competition in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Viet Nam's first gymnast to win a ticket to the Olympics was 21-year-old Phan Thi Ha Thanh.

Hailing from the northern port city of Hai Phong, Thanh won a bronze medal at the recent world event.

So far Viet Nam has five athletes on their way to London: gymnasts Thanh and Hung, taekwondo artists Le Huynh Chau and Chu Hoang Dieu Linh, and judoka Van Ngoc Tu.

In addition, top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh is expected to play in London as he is ranked eighth in the world. — VNS

vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Messi vows to share Ballon d'Or with Xavi

FC Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has said that he will "share this award with Xavi" after claiming the FIFA Ballon d'Or for the third year in succession.

Lionel Messi delights in receiving another FIFA Ballon d'Or award - ©Getty Images

FC Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has been awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or for the third year in succession.

The Argentinian international, who was voted the inaugural winner of the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award for the season 2010/11, and who also won the now-merged FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or awards in 2009, said "it's a great pleasure for me to win my third award" after receiving the trophy from former Brazil striker Ronaldo.

"It's an amazing honour," Messi told delegates at the Zurich Kongresshaus, after pipping shortlisted candidates Xavi Hernández and Cristiano Ronaldo to the prize. "I want to thank everyone who voted for me: my friends, my team-mates from Barcelona and the Argentinian national team, my coach, the trainers, the physios; everyone who have been involved with Barça. It's a very special trophy for me.

"I'm going to share this with Xavi," he added. "It's the fourth time we've been here in Zurich; it's a great pleasure to play alongside him. Xavi, you deserve the trophy just as much as me. Without you I wouldn't have won and I want to thank you for being such a good friend."

Messi excelled once again for the Blaugrana last season, scoring 31 goals in as many Liga starts – and 53 overall – to help Barça claim their third league crown in succession, and the fifth of his career. The 24-year-old also produced another stellar UEFA Champions League campaign, top scoring in the competition for a third year running with a record-equalling 12 strikes in 13 appearances, including a goal in the final. He was voted man of the match after inspiring Josep Guardiola's charges to a second European Champions Club's Cup success in three years.

The Barça No10, who was also on target in his side's 2-0 UEFA Super Cup triumph against FC Porto last August, capped a momentous year with two goals in the 4-0 defeat of Santos FC as the European Champions lifted the FIFA World Club Cup in Yokohama, Japan. He has already mustered 17 league goals in 17 league appearances so far this term and co-leads the UEFA Champions League scorers' charts with six goals in the group stage.

His coach, Josep Guardiola, was also honoured at the ceremony, receiving the FIFA Men's Football Coach of the Year award for leading Barcelona to five trophies. "I would like to share this award with José Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson and all the coaches around the world who share this passion," said Guardiola. "It is a privilege to be part of such an incredible club. Finally, I would like to dedicate this award to Tito Vilanova, my assistant, my colleague, my friend who can't be here tonight."

The FIFA Women's World Player of the Year was won by Homare Sawa, who lifted the FIFA Women's World Cup as captain of Japan, coached by Norio Sasaki, who received the FIFA Women's Football World Coach of the Year award. The FIFA Puskás Award for 2011's best goal was taken by Neymar for his wonderful solo effort for Santos against Brazilian top-flight rivals CR Flamengo in July, while the Presidential Award went to Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Messi was one of five Barcelona players named in the FIFA/FIFPro World XI.

The full lineup is:
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF); Daniel Alves (FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF), Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona), Nemanja Vidić (Manchester United FC); Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid CF), Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona); Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United FC).

uefa.com

Tennis star Thien enters top 100 young players

Young tennis ace Nguyen Hoang Thien is included among the list of top 100 young players in the world, according to rankings released early this month.

HCM City-based Thien, who started his tennis career at the age of eight, rose to 67th place in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings with 277.5 points.

Thien's surge in the rankings stems from his successes in recent international tournaments as well as the ITF's removal of players who are over 18 years old from the list.

Thien's latest noticeable achievement was winning the singles event at Hong Kong Open Junior Championships 2011.

The new ranking allows the 17-year-old to compete in youth events at all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Thien, coached by French coaches Tom Kindavong and Marcel Donminique Petit, is working hard to prepare for the boys event at the Australian Open.

dtinews.vn

Clock ticks as London marks 200 days till Olympics

London marks 200 days to go until the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games on Monday with several setbacks in the ticketing system failing to affect the organisers' upbeat mood.

London marks 200 days to go until the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games on Monday with several setbacks in the ticketing system failing to affect the organisers' upbeat mood

The British government will hold a special cabinet meeting in the Olympic Park in east London to mark the day, while from Tuesday the gymnastics facilities will be the latest to be tested.

As London prepares to become the first city to host the Olympics for the third time, most of the venues are completed and tickets for all events -- except the hundreds of thousands available for the football competition -- are sold out.

Organisers can take pride in the remarkable transformation of a once rundown area of scrapyards and workshops into a collection of high-tech sporting venues, virtually a new city of housing and, eventually, a green park.

Yet amid the excitement, many Britons failed to secure tickets after a lottery left the majority of applicants disappointed amid massive demand.

There were red faces last week when organisers LOCOG admitted they had mistakenly oversold tickets for synchronised swimming sessions and were forced to offer thousands of people tickets to other events.

Some 10,000 tickets were meant to go on offer in the second round of sales but 20,000 were mistakenly made available.

Those who missed out on synchronised swimming tickets now have the consolation of a chance of receiving tickets to the men's 100 metres final, the blue riband event of the Games which is likely to feature Usain Bolt.

Adding to the organisers' blushes, the website for recipients to resell tickets they do not want has been suspended because of technical problems.

An additional one million non-football tickets are due to go on sale in April once the final configuration of the stadiums has been worked out, and they are certain to be snapped up.

David Beckham's likely inclusion in the British squad should help to sell tickets for the men's football competition being held at Wembley, Old Trafford and other major stadiums.

As the clock ticks down to the July 27 opening ceremony, chief organiser Sebastian Coe said the acid test of his organisation would be whether athletes could be delivered to their event on time, and ready to compete.

"I never want an athlete telling me he did not make a final because the Olympic Village did not create the right atmosphere, or he did not get the right service or the transport did not work," Coe told the Evening Standard newspaper.

"The Games have to work for the most important client group, the athletes. I can't screw it up for them. That would be a cardinal sin."

In an already congested city like London, few doubt that transport is one of the biggest issues the Games face.

Specially reserved Olympic road lanes, reserved for athletes, officials and the media are designed to ensure competitors are not delayed but their effect is likely to be traffic snarl-ups elsewhere in the capital.

India is now expected to send a team after its Olympic authorities threatened to boycott the Games over plans to have the branding of sponsor Dow Chemical on the fabric 'wrap' around the Olympic Stadium.

India is opposed to the company's involvement because of its links to the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster which killed tens of thousands of people.

The row was defused when LOCOG said Dow's name will not appear on the wrap.

There was also criticism when Prime Minister David Cameron ordered an additional £41 million ($63 million, 50 million euros) to be spent on the opening and closing ceremonies -- seen by some as frivolous at a time of austerity in Britain.

"Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle has the difficult task of ensuring that London's opening ceremony can compete with the spectacular show staged by Beijing four years ago.

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Vietnam chess ace Liem invited to join Olympics Torch Relay

International Grandmaster Le Quang Liem of Vietnam has been invited to join the 2012 Olympics Torch Relay in Manchester, England in June though there are no chess competitions in the Games.

Le Quang Liem

He was invited to represent Vietnam together with Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan, the winner of the 2007 Miss Vietnam World Pageant.

According to the Torch Relay organizers, the event will be attended by more than 100 outstanding individuals across the world. The torch relay is one of the traditional events held before the Olympics starts.

In Ho Chi Minh City on Jan. 1, Liem was named one of the seven “Outstanding Young Citizens 2011” of the metropolis. They were honored for their contributions and they represent young city dwellers with a way of living being a good example for the public.

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Top-form Serena out of love with tennis

Serena Williams says she has fallen out of love with tennis despite recording an impressive comeback win over Chanelle Scheepers in the first round of the Brisbane International on Monday.

Serena Williams of the US reacts during her first round match against Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa at the Brisbane International tennis tournament, in Brisbane on January 2, 2012. IMAGE STRICTLY RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE AFP PHOTO / William WEST

Playing her first match since losing the US Open final to Samantha Stosur in August, Williams showed why she is the most feared player in the draw as she outgunned Scheepers 6-2, 6-3.

Williams, who missed the last four months of 2011, struggled at times with her first serve but still had too much firepower for the South African, sending down seven aces in the 68-minute victory.

The 30-year-old revealed later she was cutting her schedule back in 2012 as she prepares for life after tennis.

"I just want to be able to do other things that I'm doing and expand on that. I think that helps keep my motivation up," she said.

Williams, who has won 13 Grand Slam singles titles, admitted she took the latter part of 2011 off because she was tired and said she did not love the sport any more -- if she ever had.

"I don't love tennis today but I'm here," she said.

"I can't live without it -- there's a difference between not loving something and not being able to live without it.

"It's not that I've fallen out of love with it. I've actually never liked sports and I never understood how I became an athlete.

"I don't like working out, I don't like anything physical. If it involves sitting down or shopping, I'm excellent at it."

Second seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany overcame a second set collapse to defeat Israeli Shahar Peer 7-6 (7/2), 1-6, 6-3.

Petkovic, the runner-up in 2011, had problems with her serve throughout the first two sets but recovered in the third to outlast Peer in two and a quarter hours.

Former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic breezed into the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Austrian Tamira Paszek.

Ivanovic raced through the first set then recovered from a slight wobble in the second to wrap up the match in 79 minutes.

"I really felt I played well and applied a lot of things that I have worked on," the 24-year-old Serb said.

"Still, there is room for improvement but it is the first match (of the year) and I'm very, very happy to be through."

Ivanovic next plays Belgium's Kim Clijsters in a mouthwatering second round clash.

The two last met in Miami last year, a match Ivanovic lost despite holding five match points in the third set.

Russia's eighth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova progressed when Slovenia's Polona Hercog withdrew with Pavlyuchenkova leading 6-1, 4-1.

In other matches, Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva thrashed Russian qualifier Vera Dushevina 6-0, 6-0, the Czech Republic's Barbora Zahlavova Strycova saw off Australian wildcard Olivia Rogowska 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 and American qualifier Vania King upset Hungary's Melinda Czink 6-3, 6-4.

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Gymnast Thanh voted best athlete of the year

With 1,425 points, the Haiphong born gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh was awarded the “best athlete of the year” by the vote of nearly 200 domestic sport reporters and experts.

Thanh became the first Vietnamese gymnast to grab a bronze medal at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, and won a berth for the 2012 London Olympics.

The second place went to swimmer Hoang Quy Phuoc, who finished first in the men’s 100m freestyle and butterfly events at the 26^th SEA Games in Indonesia, with 1,386 points.

Meanwhile, chess Grandmaster Le Quang Liem, who was unbeaten and ranked second at the Dortmund Chess Match last July, was placed third with 945 points.

He was followed by the Asian and SEA Games sprinting champion, Truong Thanh Hang, and the SEA Games gymnastics winner, Do Thi Ngan Thuong.

The remaining athletes in the top 10 included sharpshooter Ha Minh Thanh, high jumper Duong Thi Viet Anh, wrestler Tran Le Quoc Toan and two taekwondo martial artists Chu Hoang Dieu Linh and Le Huynh Chau.

Gymnastics trainer for the female team Do Thuy Giang topped the vote for best trainer of the year. The other places went to Do Anh Tuan (swimming), Ho Thi Tu Tam (track and field), Nguyen Thi Nhung (shooting) and Ho Anh Tuan (taekwondo).

The best handicapped athlete award went to swimmer Vo Thanh Tung, who broke two Asian records at the 26^th ASEAN Para Games, and his trainer Dong Quoc Cuong won the best coach for handicapped athletes award.

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New domestic coach possible, says VFF

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) will employ a domestic coach if it sacks the German coach, Falko Goetz, said VFF Chairman Nguyen Trong Hy.

“Malaysia and Indonesia have become very successful with their domestic trainers,” he said, adding that domestic trainers in V-league clubs have obtained more achievement than their foreign colleagues".

“VFF has preferred to choose a foreign coach for the national squad. However, it is now high time the federation hired domestic coaches for both national and U23 teams,” Hy said.

If this happens, it will be the first time after 16 years that Vietnam has looked for a domestic coach.

The national team used to be led by domestic coaches known as Vu Van Tu, Nguyen Sy Hien and Tran Duy Long, but it was defeated right in the first round of the SEA Games in 1991 and 1993.

The failure then forced VFF to change its mind and looked for the first foreign coach, Karl Heinz Weigang from German. Under his guidance the team easily won a silver medal in SEA Games just two years later.

VFF had employed 8 other foreign coaches later since until 2004 when it replaced Brazilian trainer Edson Tavares by Vietnamese coach Tran Van Khanh after the team failed to qualify for the second round of Tiger Cup 2004. Khanh only instructed the team in one match, then handed it over to the Austrian coach, Alfred Riedl.

Three years later, VFF employed a Vietnamese coach to replace the Austrian colleague after the U23 team was defeated by Myanmar in the semi-final. Coach Mai Duc Trung, however, could not turn the tide and Vietnam was thrashed 0-5 by Singapore in the match for the third place.

When Portuguese coach resigned in March 2011, VFF considered choosing three domestic coaches for the post, namely Le Huynh Duc from SHB Danang, Phan Thanh Hung from Hanoi T&T and Mai Duc Chung from Navibank Saigon. However, they all refused. VFF finally invited Falko Goetz from Germany.

Domestic coaches are unwilling to work with VFF for many reasons. They are not treated on the same par with their foreign partners, not to mention the fact that they are paid only VND10 million per month, much lower than what they normally earn in their own clubs.

Therefore it is very difficult for VFF to choose a suitable domestic coach for the national squad.

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Bracewell the hero as Kiwis stun Aussies in Test

Seamer Doug Bracewell bowled New Zealand to a sensational seven-run victory over Australia in the second Test in Hobart on Monday for the Kiwis' first win in Australia for 26 years.

New Zealand seamer Doug Bracewell (L) and Australian batsman David Warner at the second cricket Test match in Hobart on December 12.

The Black Caps captured eight wickets for 74 runs for a dramatic victory midway through the fourth day of an extraordinary Test match at Bellerive Oval.

Bracewell finished with 6-40 off 16.4 overs in a match-winning performance to stun the Australians, who appeared on track for victory at 159 for two chasing 241 runs to win.

But the Australians folded spectacularly and David Warner's unbeaten maiden Test century went in vain as wickets tumbled around him and Nathan Lyon was bowled by Bracewell in the 64th over to claim victory.

It was the Black Caps' first victory in Australia since 1985 as they tied the two-Test series after comprehensively losing the first Gabba Test by nine wickets.

"We believed in ourselves that we could win this match. We knew we had to fight, we had to play a lot better than we did in Brisbane," skipper Ross Taylor said.

Bracewell turned the match around with the wickets of Ricky Ponting (16), Michael Clarke (0), Michael Hussey (0), James Pattinson (4), Mitchell Starc (0) and Lyon (9).

"He bowled outstandingly well for a young guy, 21, and to come in only his third Test and to get Ponting, Clarke and Hussey, that's something to tell your grandkids about," Taylor said of Bracewell.

Clarke said his team were proving too inconsistent with their third defeat in eight Tests under his captaincy.

"You're seeing some really good patches of individual excellence and as a team we're playing really well in patches, but then you see the other side as well where we're letting ourselves down with very poor performances," he said.

"We're inconsistent at the minute which is giving us all a pain in the backside."

Warner carried his bat to finish unbeaten on 123 off 170 balls with 14 boundaries to cement his Test position after fellow opener Phillip Hughes was out again cheaply.

Warner surprisingly was preferred to Bracewell as official man-of-the-match in a television viewers' poll.

Wickets continued to fall around Warner with Brad Haddin snapped up by Ross Taylor in the slips off Tim Southee and Peter Siddle taken at third slip off Southee for two.

Bracewell removed Pattinson and Starc within three balls to have the Black Caps one wicket away from victory after Australia had lost seven wickets for 40.

Lyon survived two tense reviews for lbw as Warner went after the runs against a spreadeagled field before Bracewell finished the game when he bowled Lyon.

Ponting's possible final Test innings in his home state finished in a whimper after he was given a standing ovation to the wicket.

Test cricket's third-highest runscorer spooned a catch to cover after playing back to Bracewell and was out for 16 after scoring just five in the first innings.

Clarke was caught at slip by Taylor and Hussey was out first ball lbw after a review went in bowler Bracewell's favour.

Hughes's Test future again looked uncertain after he was out in the day's second over with no addition to his overnight score of 20.

It was the fourth straight time Hughes was caught by Martin Guptill in the slips off Chris Martin's bowling in the series.

His latest batting failure -- 41 in four innings against the Kiwis -- will intensify the pressure on his spot ahead of the Test series with India, starting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day.

While Hughes's technical deficiencies outside offstump continued to hound him, Warner built a strong case for his retention, possibly partnering Shane Watson against India.

Usman Khawaja again failed to go on after getting a start and went to drive Trent Boult only to give an edge to Taylor at first slip. Khawaja made 23 off 48 balls.

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