Vietnam’s goalkeeper Duong Hong Son (2nd, L) and his teammates pose for a photo before leaving Singapore Monday for the 2008 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup final first leg match in Bangkok on Wednesday. Vietnam hosts the second leg match on Sun

The mood was distinctly gung-ho as the second semifinal victors left Singapore Monday, heading to Bangkok for the first leg of the 2008 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup final to be played on Wednesday in Bangkok.

Actor Duc Trung, leading the fans, was there with many others to share the happiness with the team.

“I had a sound sleep last night. It was a surprisingly wonderful win. It will give us more confidence to encounter Thailand,” said team captain Tai Em.

Hero of the day, striker Nguyen Quang Hai said, “I have been extremely happy. I had an interrupted sleep last night because of the goal.”

“Thanks to the National U21 Football Tournament sponsored by Thanh Nien, I was discovered as a promising player, and have contributed to Vietnam’s successs,” Hai said.

Central fullback Le Phuoc Tu pulled up his trousers to show the bruises on his shin and said, “Singapore’s striker Noh Alam Shah was very violent. I don’t know why the referee didn’t give him a card.”

Midfielder Pham Thanh Luong was smiling as he said, “Last night I didn’t play as well as I did in previous matches because Singapore’s Daniel Bennet is very tall. But if I have a chance to face him again, I will know how to go round him.”

Defender Huynh Quang Thanh pointed to his ankle, saying: “My ankle was hurt during the warm-up. I thought I couldn’t play but when I saw the coach and teammates were full of strong efforts, I forgot the pain. However, I didn’t play as well as I usually do. I hope the fans are sympathetic and I will try to recover for the final first leg clash against Thailand.”

Goalkeeper Duong Hong Son was the recipient of most of the fan’s admiration for his exceptional performance in staving off all the shots by the Singaporean players, especially striker Noh Alam Shah.

Son said, “It was extremely hard because it was very windy. I had trouble launching attacks as well as saving shots by the opponents.”

“The defenders were tough, and that inspired my self-confidence. I made some mistakes in the loss to Thailand in the group stage match on December 6 but I have learnt a good lesson from it. I must be alert at all times,” Son said.

Playmaker Minh Phuong said: “I didn’t play last night, but it didn’t matter. What was important was that the coach used the right players in a good strategy more importantly, Vietnam has advanced to the final.”

Before the team got on the bus, Calisto started a Vietnamese song by Le Quang “Niem tin chien thang se theo ta den ben bo vui” (Confidence in victory will accompany us to a happy ending)” and the whole team began to sing. There was so much excitement in the team before leaving for Bangkok.

Inspiring questions

A coaching staff member said Henrique Calisto was very angry after the poor performance of Vietnamese players in the first half against Singapore on Sunday. He asked a series of questions that seemed to lift the spirit of his players.

He kicked a table to a corner and asked, “Are you Vietnamese players? Have you lost all pride in your nation? Do you know what many millions of people back in Vietnam and thousands of Vietnamese fans here expect from us? Do you know you’re killing yourselves by playing so poorly?”

Then the Portuguese man continued, “I don’t want to see you play so badly in the second half. You must fight to death. Do you promise? Any of you who don’t want to play hard, please raise your hand.”

The players seemed to take the coach’s words to heart, and the spirit was higher than in the first half.

Reported by Quang Tuyen