The player named Lionel Messi of the Indonesian U.16 team, whose full name is Lionel Messi Ai Fachri, currently plays for the Asiop Academy team. Interestingly, Indonesian football has long had many players whose parents named them after world-famous players.
Footballer Lionel Messi Ai Fachri (left) was named by his parents after the Argentine football legend, Lionel Messi
The case of player Lionel Messi Ai Fachri is the latest, and surprisingly this time, famous player Messi was named after his child by his parents in Indonesia.
Previously, football fans in the Southeast Asian region went from surprise to familiarity with Indonesian players with names like Ronaldo Kwateh (after the famous player Cristiano Ronaldo), Beckham Putra (David Beckham), or Achmad Figo (Luis Figo)... Among these players, coach Shin Tae-yong also called them to the U.23 team and the national team of the archipelago to compete in the SEA Games, the AFF Cup (now the ASEAN Championship) and even the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian U.16 team participating in the qualifying round for the 2025 AFC U.17 Championship finals, taking place in October, also has three players playing abroad, including Ocean Erwin Lim (Cardedeu FC, Spain), Matthew Davis (Subiaco Club, New Zealand) and Miroslav Fernando (Atletico Madrid youth team, Spain).
In the qualifying round, the U.16 Indonesia team is in Group G with strong opponents such as U.16 Australia, Kuwait (group host) and Northern Mariana Islands.
Vietnam U.16 team is led by Brazilian coach Cristiano Roland
The Vietnam U.16 team, led by Brazilian coach Cristiano Roland, a former player of Hanoi FC, will compete in Group I at home, with opponents such as U.16 Yemen, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar.
The opening match of the U.16 Vietnam team will be against Kyrgyzstan on October 23, followed by Myanmar on October 25 and the final group stage match against Yemen on October 27. All matches of the U.16 Vietnam team will be held at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho.
Vietnam U.16 team attends training tournament in China
Match schedule of Vietnam U.16 team in the qualifying round of the 2025 AFC U.17 tournament
In the 2025 AFC U-17 Championship qualifiers, the 10 group winners and the 5 best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals in Saudi Arabia (from April 3 to 20, 2025). The host team Saudi Arabia will have a spot and will not compete in the qualifiers.
According to the plan, the Vietnam U.16 team will continue to train at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. On August 14, the team will leave for Shenyang (China) to participate in the international U.16 friendly tournament - Peace Cup 2024. This tournament will have the participation of the Vietnam U.16 team, Japan U.16, Uzbekistan U.16 and host China U.16, according to the Vietnam Football Federation.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/indonesia-trieu-tap-cau-thu-co-ten-lionel-messi-vao-doi-u16-185240806121435556.htm
Comment (0)