A few days ago, football fans in Binh Dinh were in a deep gloom due to the defeat of the local football team, depriving it of a place in the top-flight V-League next season.
But now the cloud has been lifted in the province famous for martial arts as colorful posters and banners lining the streets of Quy Nhon Town welcome the eight football squads set to compete in the 12th National U21 final.
This is the second time Binh Dinh Province has been honored to host the event and locals are hoping its young players will take home a win.
In the area of Cafe 360 and other street cafes around Quy Nhon Stadium, Binh Dinh fans express fervent excitement regarding the upcoming event.
“It’s very exciting to watch the matches of this event because young footballers play with all their hearts and souls,” a fan said.
“Binh Dinh has a great chance to win the title because most of the players are from the Class A team who played in the V-League this past season.”
However, the other teams are also very strong.
The squad from Ho Chi Minh City is the National U19 champion, while Dong Nai’s group won the National U19 championship last year and the U15 championship three years ago.
Binh Dinh’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is currently finishing its preparations for the event and the much-anticipated opening ceremony, which will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Highlights will include performances by well-known singers from HCMC and a synchronized conical hat dance involving 500 female students from around the province to welcome the competing athletes and guests.
The annual Thanh Nien National U21 football championship will prove to be the grounds where new young talent will be discovered for the national U23 team as well as the national team.
All football fans and coaches nationwide will be looking forward to the kickoff with bated breath.
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Elite eight
By Monday afternoon, all eight U21 football teams had arrived in Quy Nhon Town for the competition.
“I feel very excited to be at the event. It is over ten years old now and is becoming more and more professional.
The young players are now taken better care of, and I think the event will be very competitive this time around,” Da Nang coach Phan Thanh Hung said.
“It is not only a place for each player and team to show off their performance, but also an interesting place for coaches to discover young talents for the future of Vietnam’s national football,” he added.
Dong Nai’s team captain Le Van Trieu said: “This is the first time we have been honored to participate in this national event.
We made big investments and our U15 team won the national U15 championship three years ago, and subsequently the national U19 title last year, so we hope to make a good impression at this event.”
“I coached An Giang in 2003 as it participated in the event for the first time and our team won the bronze medal,” HCMC team coach Luu Quoc Tan said.
“This year, I hope my squad will at least advance beyond the first round.”
Reported by Dang Khoa |
Reported by Cao Nguyen |
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