Ace striker Le Cong Vinh (R) and coach Henrique Calisto in a training session of the national football team earlier this year

Leading striker Le Cong Vinh has not been named in the national team picked for the upcoming HCMC Cup and 2011 Asian Cup qualifying matches.

Speaking on the phone to Thanh Nien from Kunming, China on Tuesday, Calisto said he didn’t include Vinh because the latter was now playing for Portugal’s top-flight league club Leixoes.

Also on Tuesday, Nguyen Trong Giap, deputy manager of the ational team, told Thanh Nien that, “All the 23 players called this time were chosen by coach Henrique Calisto. We (Vietnam Football Federation) don’t have any suggestions.”

The new list announced Monday has most of the players who helped Vietnam win the coveted 2008 ASEAN Football Federation Cup.

Vinh, the Golden Ball winner in 2004, 2006 and 2007, signed a four-month contract with the Liga Sagres club in August; but he has not been in the starting line-up even once yet.

The national team will gather in Ho Chi Minh City on October 1 to prepare for the HCMC Cup to take place from October 20-24.

The players will then move to Hanoi to play Syria in the first leg of the 2011 Asian Cup qualifying round at My Dinh Stadium on November 14 before playing the second leg match in Syria four days later.

Reported by Lan Phuong