Viet Nam to host Euro elite

The Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) plans to invite Italian Juventus, German Frankfurt and Spanish Atletico Madrid to compete in friendlies with Viet Nam this year.

The schedule was given out at VFF’s executive board meeting on Wednesday in preparation for the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi capital in October.

The VFF will organise an international football tournament, the Thang Long Cup in Ha Noi andHCMCity, with the participation of China, Kuwait, North Korea, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore andViet Nam’s Olympic and senior teams.

“The Viet Nam senior team expects to hone their skills with Bundesliga Eintracht Frankfurt in May when Viet Nam and Germany celebrate the 35th anniversary of their diplomatic relations,” said VFF vice chairman Nguyen Lan Trung.

“As scheduled, Viet Nam will next meet Juventus in June. VFF and the ‘Old Lady’ will negotiate financial terms in an agreement to take Juventus to Ha Noi next year,” Trung said after the meeting.

In 1996, Gianluca Vialli and Juventus played Viet Nam at Ha Noi’s Hang Day Stadium, where they won 2-1.

The third visitors will be La Liga Atletico Madrid, who will come to Viet Nam during an Asian tour next July.

In a working visit to Viet Nam last November, Atletico Madrid chief Miguel Angel Gil Marin said that the friendly match between Viet Nam and his team would occur after the team played in Shanghai, China.

This friendly tour of strong teams will also help Viet Nam prepare for the tough road ahead when the team defends the ASEAN Football Championship, or the AFF Cup, which Viet Namwon in 2008.

Viet Nam has been authorised to co-host the final round of the AFF Cup, along with Indonesia, from December 1-29.

Viet Nam, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar get byes from the preliminary cup round, while Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Brunei and East Timor will have a round robin for two berths in the final round. – VNS