'Football without spectators is so sad...'

Duy Manh hopes Vietnamese fans will support the team

The Vietnamese team entered the training session on the afternoon of November 24, witnessed by many fans, who are Vietnamese people living, studying and working in Korea. The spectators brought the Vietnamese flag to the field and cheered for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team to complete the training session, taking another step forward in preparation for the 2024 AFF Cup.

In an interview before the training session, central defender Do Duy Manh emotionally shared: "Football without spectators will be very sad. We hope that fans at home and abroad will always support and cheer for the Vietnamese team."

Duy Manh returns to the Vietnam national team after recovering from injury

Sharing his feelings after 2 days of training in weather conditions with lower temperatures than in Hanoi, Do Duy Manh said: "As professional players, we have to adapt to any training or competition environment. The Vietnamese team chose Korea as a training location to help the team improve their physical strength and tactics in preparation for the AFF Cup. I think this is a good training location for the Vietnamese team."

Duy Manh is one of the most experienced players of the Vietnamese team, belonging to the generation that created an earthquake in the continental arena when reaching the final of the 2018 U.23 Asia and then regularly participating in important tournaments such as ASIAD 18, Asian Cup 2019, AFF Cup 2018, 2020, 2022 until the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. However, persistent injuries have made it difficult for Duy Manh to return to his best form. Even when the team was preparing for the 2023 Asian Cup, Duy Manh was still racing against time until the last minute to be included in the list to go to Qatar.

Therefore, when coach Kim Sang-sik called him up to the squad to prepare for the AFF Cup 2024, Duy Manh tried very hard in training sessions to meet the expectations of the Korean strategist.

Vietnamese fans come to the stadium to support the team

"In terms of inspiration, all the players are the same. The whole team came here with the highest determination and excitement. The V-League has just gone through tough rounds, the players called up to the national team are all extremely proud. We will try to follow the training plan of the coaching staff.

This is the right time for the whole team to accumulate energy to enter the tournament with the best physical condition and form. Southeast Asian football is developing, the opponents are getting stronger. Therefore, not only me but all the brothers in the team must show the highest determination, helping the Vietnamese team to be the strongest when entering the tournament," Duy Manh affirmed.

Vietnam team practices tactics

Because the team had a specialized physical training session in the morning, coach Kim Sang-sik spent most of the afternoon training session on tactics, strengthening team cohesion, and attack and defense exercises.

In the next 2 days, the team continued to maintain a training schedule of 2 sessions per day, with physical training in the morning and tactical training in the afternoon.

On November 27, the team will have a "warm-up" match with Ulsan Citizen FC before entering two quality tests, respectively meeting Daegu FC on November 29 and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on December 1.

Coach Kim Sang-sik trains his students in tactics

Daegu FC is a traditional Korean football team, having won the K-League 1 runner-up title in 2016. Meanwhile, Jeonbuk is one of the most famous clubs in Korea, owning many national players, having won the K-League 1 championship 9 times, the most recent of which was in 2021. This team has also won the AFC Champions League 2 twice and is currently participating in the AFC Champions League 2 2024 - 2025 with 6 points after 3 matches, temporarily ranked second in Group H.

Notably, Jeonbuk is also the team that coach Kim Sang-sik is associated with both as a player and as head coach. That is also the reason why, despite having a rather tight schedule, this team is still willing to play a friendly match to help the Vietnamese team have the most effective "test match" before ending the training session in Korea.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/duy-manh-noi-loi-gan-ruot-bong-da-ma-thieu-khan-gia-thi-buon-lam-185241124184927531.htm