Brazilian star and 2002 World Cup winner Denilson, who signed a three-month contract with Hai Phong , has already made an impact with ticket sales skyrocketing ahead of the club’s Saturday clash with top-placed Da Nang.

The V-League club usually sells tickets just one day before a match, but it began to sell the tickets for the Saturday clash at Lach Tray Stadium Wednesday, three days ahead.

Deputy Director Ngo Duy Ho of Hai Phong City’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said with obvious delight that “Though the match will be aired live on Vietnam Television Station’s channel VTV3, the fans want to see the Brazilian star in the flesh.

“We understand that everyone is afraid the tickets will be sold out before they can buy them; so we’ve started to sell tickets early.”

He said in about 15 minutes, more than 3,000 tickets were sold in the morning and 2,500 in the afternoon, adding that people were opting for the most expensive VND80,000 (US$4.50) ticket in order to be nearer the field and see Denilson more clearly.

Ho said the club’s matches against big rivals like Da Nang, Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Dong Tam Long An attract more fans to the stadium and the club usually makes a profit of VND1 billion ($56,300) per match at tickets priced VND35,000-50,000 ($2-2.8). Now the prices are higher and the profits will be much higher, he added.

“The 30,000-seat Lach Tray Stadium will surely be filled up. Some agencies want to book some tickets but we may not provide them any,” Ho said.

Ho also said they would try to control ticket sales and prevent touts from buying and reselling the tickets.

Thanh Nien found some touts in front of Lach Tray Stadium Wednesday, but the tickets were just VND5,000 or so higher than at the counter.

Meanwhile, the club coach Vuong Tien Dung said Denilson is not quite well because he is not used to the weather. He said he would wait until the last minute to decide, but he might not let him play the entire 90 minutes.

Reported by Lan Phuong