Chief coach Henrique Calisto of the national football squad disagreed with the opinion that his presence in Guangzhou might put pressure on the Vietnam U23 team which suffered 2-6 defeat in the game against Turkmenistan.

 

Vietnam has had a win and a loss at the Asian Games in Guangzhou. The team must win in the last match against Iran, the candidate for the championship.

 

Calisto admitted that this is a very difficult goal because Iran is the strongest rival in group B.

 

“I lost sleep after that surprised defeat. I personally think that U23 Vietnam had big opportunity to win in that game. However, I still believe in the team’s ability. They are qualified players,” said Calisto after the match.

 

Many people said that Calisto’s sudden presence in Guangzhou made adverse impacts on players’ psychology and this was a reason leading to the pitiful defeat. A reporter raised this question to Calisto and the coach was very angry with the comment.

 

He said: “I don’t understand why they made that comment. Most of U23 players have worked with me for a long time. We understand each other very clearly. I’m in charge of training the team though Mr. Phan Thanh Hung has directly led the team. I didn’t fly from Hanoi to Guangzhou to ask Mr. Hung to replace players. I went to Guangzhou to provide technical assistance and to keep track of some players who will be picked up for the national squad to the AFF Cup.”

 

The coach instructed U23 Vietnam in their drilling exercises on November 11.

 

To enter the next round, U23 Vietnam must at least draw in the last match against Iran on November 13.

 

The team’s performance at Asian Games 2010:

 

November 8: Vietnam – Bahrain (3-1)

November 10: Vietnam - Turkmenistan (2-6)

November 13: Vietnam - Iran

 

PV