Coach Gao Hongbo and 26 members of the Chinese national football team arrived in Hanoi on January 14 for the match against Vietnam at 7pm, January 17 at the My Dinh Stadium.

The Chinese squad at the My Dinh Stadium.

Though it has already made it to the finals of the Asian Cup 2011, China is still bringing its best players to Vietnam, including senior fullback Sun Xiang, the first Chinese football player to play in the UEFA Champions League in 2007, and Du Wei, who played for Celtic in Scotland.

In training last night at the My Dinh stadium also had the presence of Hao Junmin, the most outstanding young player in 2005 and 2007. Gao Lin, who made a hattrick in China’s first-leg match against Vietnam, also comes to Vietnam. In addition, China has Shao Jiayi, who is playing for Energie Cottbus in the second division of the Bundesliga.

After a day off, the Vietnamese national squad was back to practice at the My Dinh Young Football Training Centre on January 14. Three players were absent, including Trong Hoang, Sy Manh and Nhu Thanh.

Answering the media’s question about a new contract with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), coach Henrique Calisto said: “VFF’s officials and football experts said that I should not work for both the national squad and a club. If I only work for three months for the national team, what will I do in the remaining time?”

It is said that on January 19, VFF’s officials will meet with coach Calisto to discuss his new contract. VFF has sent a draft contract to the Portuguese coach. This is three-year contract, starting from April 1 2010, with some proposals for the coach’s consideration.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre