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Thanhniennews - Nine days of
football excitement ended Sunday as Iran deservedly took home the 2nd
International U.21 Football Tournament Thanh Nien Cup 2008.
Large crowds flocked to Tu Do Stadium to watch the matches on the final day
of the tournament.
Before the closing ceremony, famous singers like Ho Quynh Huong, Kasim Hoang
Vu and Phuong Vy warmed up the stadium with stirring performances.
The people of Hue have been enjoying themselves for almost 10 days reveling
in the festive atmosphere generated by the football competition - the
biggest international sporting event that the central province has hosted so
far.
Every morning, many people have gathered at cafes to have a drink and
discuss football, and the merits and demerits of favorites in Vietnam’s U.21
team. Duc Thien, Trong Phu, Van Khai, Thanh Hung and Duc Tai were hot topics
for the week.
Also discussed was the good quality of the competition with the
participation of Iran’s U21 team and Thailand’s confident and strategic
performance.
In the evenings, with the matches going on, Tu Do Stadium bristled with
excitement as 15,000 fans cheered the players on.
Many people told Thanh Nien that Hue hadn’t had such excitement for years.
Addressing the closing ceremony, Nguyen Cong Khe, organizing committee
chairman and vice president of the Vietnam Youth Federation, thanked the
people and authorities of the central province for cooperating with the
organizers to make it a very successful competition.
Khe stressed: “The competition was successful because its main goal was to
create opportunities for Vietnamese and international young players to play
and learn from each other and improve themselves in terms of skills and
strategies before participating in regional and international tournaments.”
“It was especially good and essential for Vietnam’s U.21 footballers to play
against mighty opponents so they can improve Vietnamese football as soon as
possible.”
Thua Thien-Hue Province People’s Committee Vice Chairman Ngo Hoa said: “The
2nd International U.21 Football Tournament Thanh Nien Cup 2008 was a
brilliant success, leaving a good impression on players, coaches, referees
and fans. It was a resounding success in the eyes of international friends
.”
As leader of Thailand’s U.21 team at the tournament for two consecutive
years, Wisit Korworrakul said: “You (the Vietnamese organizers) gave us
surprise after surprise by organizing the event professionally. Visiting
teams like us have been taken good care of – with good food, accommodation,
transportation and playing (conditions).”
The matches in the competition were of very good quality, and all the six
participating teams could learn what they expected to. Thailand expects to
participate in other events to be organized by Thanh Nien and the Vietnam
Football Federation, Korworrakul said.
Close encounter
In the final, Iran’s young stars came from a goal behind to beat the Thai
opponents 2-1 in a hard-fought battle with 10 Iranians struggling upstream,
especially after defender Reza received his second yellow card and had to
leave the field.
Thailand’s players started confidently and kept close to the Iranian
players, making things very difficult for the young players from the Persian
Gulf. The first half went scoreless.
Just five minutes into the second half, Iran received a shocking blow as
Thai striker Ekkachai took a good pass from captain Suphaphorn to defeat
Iran’s goalkeeper and put Thailand ahead.
Iran fought back more fiercely and had the equalizer 10 minutes later.
However, things became extremely hard for Iran in the 69th minute when Reza
was sent off.
It came as a surprise when Iran took the lead after striker Jalalaldin
scored the second goal for Iran in the 75th minute even as their 10 players
labored under the constant pressure from Thailand.
The Southeast Asian team tried even harder but their players, like Nirunrit
and Jirawut, failed to capitalize on at least two clear chances.
In the fight earlier for the third place, Vietnam’s U.21 team beat Singapore
1-0 in a match that Vietnamese players dominated most of the time, but
squandered most of their chances except one.
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