Vietnam’s top striker Le Cong Vinh, seen in this file photo, will probably be the number one choice up front in today’s Suzuki Cup semifinal against Singapore at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium

Both the Vietnamese and Singaporean coaches are hopeful of winning the first leg of the Suzuki Cup semifinal in Hanoi today.

But he seemed otherwise miffed and answered the Vietnamese media brusquely.

Asked which strikers would start, he said, “I’m thinking about it.”

He said “I don’t know because the match hasn’t started” when someone asked, “Will Vietnam attack?”

He gave a possible clue to the reason for his truculent attitude: “The public and fans don’t believe in us,” he said three times in just 15 minutes

“They did not believe Vietnam would advance to the semifinals. But we are in it already.

“They said Vietnamese footballers are not confident, but I can assure you they are not afraid of any team.”

He said a win over Singapore would not only secure a berth in the final but also help Vietnam avenge a 1-0 defeat to Singapore in 1998 when the tournament, then called the Tiger Cup, was played in Hanoi.

When a Singaporean reporter said, “It seems your team is under so much pressure from the fans” Calisto said, “There is no reason for them to put pressure on us.

“We have achieved the goal set by the Vietnam Football Federation of reaching the semifinals.

“There is no pressure since they don’t believe in us,” he said.

“It will be normal if we lose and if we win, they will say it is a miracle.”

“It would be a good result if we beat Singapore,” he said, “and cannot be called a miracle.”

Asked if he was pleased with striker Le Cong Vinh, Calisto said: “He is still Vietnam’s number one striker. Vinh has not been in the best form at times, but I believe he has not lost his instincts or talent. He will play well this match.”

Singaporean coach Radojko Avramovic said confidently: “We have no problems now. Everything is OK. No injury, no pressure, no worry. My players all expect to win.”

“My Dinh Stadium will be crowded on Wednesday. There’s no reason why Vietnamese fans won’t come to enjoy such a high-level clash.”

“The Singaporean players got used to it when they came to Vietnam to play in 2004 and 2005.”

“In the group match in Jakarta last week, Indonesia couldn’t beat us. In fact, they lost 2-0.”

“Therefore, the big crowd at My Dinh Stadium will inspire my players to play much better.”

“If you want to know if Singapore will play cautiously or attack right from the beginning, you must wait until the match begins.”

The match kicks off at 7 p.m. today.

Reported by Lan Phuong