LookAtVietnam – Henrique Calisto has three days to put together a squad for the friendly match against Greek champions Olympiacos at Ha Noi’s My Dinh National Stadium on Thursday.

The team had their first training in Ha Noi yesterday. (Photo: VNN)

Captain Nguyen Minh Phuong has not yet recovered from a hamstring injury and his teammates Le Tan Tai, Nguyen Minh Chau, Nguyen Quang Hai, Nguyen Dinh Luat, Le Cong Vinh and Le Phuoc Tu are also out with injuries. But team doctor Nguyen Trong Hien said some of them will be recovered for the clash against Greece.

“Only captain Phuong’s injury is serious. The others’ win not keep them from competing at their best,” said Hien.

Phuong, who has played for the national team since 2002, came off the bench and played his best 45 minutes in recent games.

However, the Portuguese coach has young stars on the squad, which he will test against the powerful European opponents before recruiting them for the Olympic team. Hopefuls include goalie Dau Ngoc Tan from black horse Military Zone 4; Phan Thanh Hung and Tran Van Hoc of SHB Da Nang; Nguyen Thai Duong and Vu Anh Tuan from Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

The friendly game will mark the first-ever appearance of goalkeeper Dinh Hoang La and Dinh Hoang Max, who took Vietnamese citizenship, in the national team jersey.

As scheduled, the Greek team will arrive in Ha Noi today and have two days to train and pay a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

According to the latest roster, Olympiacos will not include Argentine Luciano Galleti, the season’s top scorer, Fernando Daniel Belluschi or Sebastian Eduardo Leto.

Goalie Antonios Nikopolidis, who won the European Championship in 2004, was named in the 18-member squad along with national team members Christos Pasatzoglou, Antzas Paraskevas, Torosidis Vasilelos, Brazilian Alexandro Sousa Dudu, Slovakia’s Pavel Kovac and Polish Michal Zewlakow.

Ticket sales

An advance allocation of nearly 30,000 tickets in the cheaper price categories of VND150,000 and VND180,000 (US$10) are now on sale, according to Pham&Partners Company, the sole distributor in Viet Nam.

The company is also offering tickets on the website www.olympiacos.com.vn. and will set up stalls at various sites in Ha Noi for cash only purchases.

But the number of fans buying tickets is limited.

According to a tout at Hang Day Stadium, it’s very hard to sell out tickets for the game because the organisers issue many tickets in the high price categories of VND500,000 ($28) and VND350,000 ($19).

Meanwhile, the game is not as popular as the game between Viet Nam and Brazil Olympics last July.

“Olympiacos don’t have big stars like Brazil, which is the main reason Vietnamese fans aren’t rushing to buy tickets,” said Hanoian Nguyen Minh Hai.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News