Viet Nam to play Eintracht friendly

The Viet Nam national side will meet the Bundesliga’s Eintracht Frankfurt in a friendly match at My Dinh National Stadium on May 12.

The friendly match resulted from agreements between the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) and Frankfurt representatives signed in Ha Noi yesterday. 

The friendly is part of the VFF’s plans for the 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi in October and the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Germany.

During their tour in Viet Nam, the Bundesliga team will also play against V-League’s Dong Tam Long An at HCMCity’s Thong Nhat Stadium on May 14.

Frankfurt, which was established in 1899 and won the UEFA Cup in 1980, currently ranks eighth in the German Bundesliga with nine wins eight draws and eight losses.

The team, which features international stars including Halil Altintop of Turkey, Brazilians Chis and Caio, Swiss Spycher and goal poacher Alexander Meier, will bring their strongest squad toViet Nam in May.

“Frankfurt is a member of the Bundesliga and we are very honoured to be invited to play inViet Nam on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries,” said the team’s vice chairman, Thomas Proeckl.

“We are sure to bring best players. All the players really want to show off their skills and competitiveness in any game. However, we don’t know much about Viet Nam’s team,” he told reporters.

The friendly will be a good chance for Viet Nam to hone their skills against strong European opposition in preparation for the ASEAN Football Championship later this year.

“It’s a very important match for Viet Nam which will help build our strongest squad for tournaments this year. Viet Nam should play powerful opponents in order to improve,” Viet Nam’s coach Henrique Calisto said. — VNS