Vietnam reshuffles as Tai Em ties knot
Vietnam"s player of the year Phan Van Tai Em will not feature in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup co-hosts" quarter-final clash with Iraq on Saturday after the…
20/07/2007 00:00:00
Vietnam”s player of the year Phan Van Tai Em will not feature in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup co-hosts” quarter-final clash with Iraq on Saturday after the 25-year-old stayed home to celebrate his wedding.
SI released Tai Em because he is going to get married,⬝ Vietnamese newspaper Nhan Dan quoted head coach Alfred Riedl as saying.
Tai Em is the second South East Asian playmaker to get married during the tournament after Thailand”s Vietnam-based midfielder Datsakorn Thonglao married his college sweetheart two days before the crucial Australia clash.
Datsakorn, who was the subject of the biggest transfer deal in the history of the V-League when he left Bangkok giants BEC Tero Sasana to join Hoang Anh Gia Lai, was excused the last day”s training but returned to play the last 36 minutes of the 4-0 defeat to the Socceroos.
But with Vietnam finishing second in their group and having to travel to Bangkok for their quarter-final, Riedl thought it best to give Tai Em time off.
SI don”t want to put any more pressure on him. Of course, we will miss him but I have some players that can replace him,⬝ he continued.
After playing a five-man midfield in the 4-1 mauling at the hands of reigning champions Japan, the Austrian is expected to play 4-4-2 against Iraq and the talented 22-year-old Ngyuen Minh Chuyen could be handed the soon-to-be-wed Dong Tam Long An star”s playmaker role.
Meanwhile, Phan Thanh Binh, who scored Vietnam”s opener in the 1-1 draw with Qatar, could return to partner Le Cong Vinh upfront after starting the Japan game on the bench.
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