Vietnamese veteran football playerswill clash against former stars of Manchester United and Liverpool atthe Hanoi’s National My Dinh Stadium, on November 19 and 20,respectively.
Hundreds of fans waited at Noi Bai Airport for hours to see their idolsand add signatures to their collections which already includeRonaldinho and Pato.
Captained by Vivian Anderson, the Man-U team will include Andrew Cole,Ronny Johnsen, Jesper Blomqvist and Ian Walker who played key parts inthe club’s triumphant history.
Striker Cole, who retired last November, was an idol for manyVietnamese when he formed an irresistible pair with Trinidad &Tobago forward Dwight Yorke during the 90s.
He said he was eager to score a goal tomorrow.
“My best time of the career definitely was when I was playing atOld Trafford,” Cole said. “I helped win five Premier League Cup titlesand a Champion League Cup. As the result, I was pleased when invited toplay in Vietnam wearing a Manchester United jersey.”
Also relishing any chance to player football after retirement, SteveMcManaman, who represented Liverpool at the press briefing on Nov. 18,said he was surprised to see how excited the locals were aboutfootball.
Nicknamed Macca, he is the first British play to win an UEFA EuropaLeague title twice and a Champion League title with a non-English club.He retired four years ago at 33.
The Liverpool team, which includes John Barnes, Mark Wright, AlanWright, Don Hutchison and Jason McAteer, will play against Vietnameserivals on November 20.
The veteran Vietnamese players could also not hide their feelings abouthaving a chance to not only play football again, but against such worldfamous competitors.
All 31 members were summoned for several days in preparation for the two matches.
“I’m very excited. I now have the feeling like in the past before avery important match,” said Vietnamese captain Nguyen Cao Cuong whoreturns after 23 years.
“I am really looking forward to the games. The emotion hurries melike when I was on the ground for the first time,” Cuong said.
Cuong who was one of the best Vietnamese footballers in history will besupported by teammates of Vietnam’s golden generation who won a silvermedal at the Southeast Asian Games in 1999 in Chiangmai, Thailand.
They are three-time Golden Ball winner Le Huynh Duc, former SoutheastAsian best player Nguyen Hong Son and penalty expert Vo Hoang Buu.
During break times of the two matches, Vietnamese fans will haveopportunities to test Liverpool’s goalkeeper Sasa Ilic in penaltyshootouts./.
Hundreds of fans waited at Noi Bai Airport for hours to see their idolsand add signatures to their collections which already includeRonaldinho and Pato.
Captained by Vivian Anderson, the Man-U team will include Andrew Cole,Ronny Johnsen, Jesper Blomqvist and Ian Walker who played key parts inthe club’s triumphant history.
Striker Cole, who retired last November, was an idol for manyVietnamese when he formed an irresistible pair with Trinidad &Tobago forward Dwight Yorke during the 90s.
He said he was eager to score a goal tomorrow.
“My best time of the career definitely was when I was playing atOld Trafford,” Cole said. “I helped win five Premier League Cup titlesand a Champion League Cup. As the result, I was pleased when invited toplay in Vietnam wearing a Manchester United jersey.”
Also relishing any chance to player football after retirement, SteveMcManaman, who represented Liverpool at the press briefing on Nov. 18,said he was surprised to see how excited the locals were aboutfootball.
Nicknamed Macca, he is the first British play to win an UEFA EuropaLeague title twice and a Champion League title with a non-English club.He retired four years ago at 33.
The Liverpool team, which includes John Barnes, Mark Wright, AlanWright, Don Hutchison and Jason McAteer, will play against Vietnameserivals on November 20.
The veteran Vietnamese players could also not hide their feelings abouthaving a chance to not only play football again, but against such worldfamous competitors.
All 31 members were summoned for several days in preparation for the two matches.
“I’m very excited. I now have the feeling like in the past before avery important match,” said Vietnamese captain Nguyen Cao Cuong whoreturns after 23 years.
“I am really looking forward to the games. The emotion hurries melike when I was on the ground for the first time,” Cuong said.
Cuong who was one of the best Vietnamese footballers in history will besupported by teammates of Vietnam’s golden generation who won a silvermedal at the Southeast Asian Games in 1999 in Chiangmai, Thailand.
They are three-time Golden Ball winner Le Huynh Duc, former SoutheastAsian best player Nguyen Hong Son and penalty expert Vo Hoang Buu.
During break times of the two matches, Vietnamese fans will haveopportunities to test Liverpool’s goalkeeper Sasa Ilic in penaltyshootouts./.
