The stars of last year’s U.21 National Football Tournament are eager to strut their stuff again at the event this year.

‘Leaps and bounds’

After the Thanh Nien-sponsored U.21 national and international competitions last year, left winger Duc Tai, then only 19, signed a five-year contract with Binh Duong, one of the V-League’s wealthiest clubs and its 2007-2008 champions.

The Hue city native rose to prominence at the U.21 national tournament as both a reliable goal scorer and a dynamic set-up man.

But he said he planned to do better this year.

“I had used up so much of my energy in the national competition, I had little leftover to help the national team at the international event,” he said.

But for this year’s international tournament, which is set for October, he said he wanted to let “big rivals from China, Iran and Thailand” know that Vietnamese football was improving by “leaps and bounds.”

To qualify for the international competition, Tai will first have to prove himself at the national show, which began September 17 in the southern province of Binh Duong.

Hat-trick dreams

Striker Phuc Hiep said he wanted to complete his “hat-trick” at the U.21 events this year after helping Tien Giang to its first U.21 national football championship in 2006, when he was only 18 years old, and then taking the same title for Da Nang at last year’s U.21 contest.

Hiep was named most valuable player of the tournament last year.

Playing for Tien Giang again this year, Hiep wants to repeat his achievements at the national tournament.

“The U.21 tournaments have helped me step out from the dark… I’m always very excited about the competitions.”

Rookie sensation?

Super-fast 18-year-old Dinh Bao of T&T Hanoi is a favorite of both fans and pundits, even though this will be his first major U.21 competition.

He was a part of the team that finished third behind victors Thailand and runners-up Australia at the U.19 Southeast Asian Championship in Ho Chi Minh City last month.

“I’ll be playing in the U.21 competition for the first time, so I will try to score as many goals as possible… I also hope I will learn a lot from the experience of the contest,” Bao said.

Hot off the press

Versatile Van Meo was very noticeable last year as he took Da Nang to the U.21 national tile. He then played in consistent form to help Da Nang take the V-League championship and the national cup title this year.

Meo can play well as a left winger and an attacking midfielder. He hopes to defend the his central club’s title at the national contest this year, which ends September 27.

Other stars

Forward Dinh Hiep from Nghe An played excellently in at the U.21 national competition in 2007 in Nha Trang. This year, his superb performance helped Khanh Hoa cruise to the top of Group D in the national competition’s qualifying round.

With a powerful shot and a knack for intelligent positioning, Hiep hopes to be prominent again at the U.21 tournament.

Nguyen Hai Huy helped Quang Ninh beat powerhouse Nam Dinh, hosts of Group A, to top the group in the qualifying round.

Diligent and effective in the midfield, Huy is a reliable player that can take control of the pitch. The future star hopes to at least take Quang Ninh to the semifinals.

VietNamNet/Thanh Nien