Vietnamese players train ahead of the AFF Cup final (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Malaysia arehoping home advantage will pay off as they will take on Vietnam in the firstleg of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 final on December 11 evening.
But coach Park Hang-seo insists his team willnot be intimidated by the 80,000 strong crowd at the Bukit Jalil stadium.
The Korean coach said he has a plan in place tobeat the home crowd in the first leg while relaying on the strength ofcharacter of the young players in the team.
Speaking to reporters at the pre-matchconference in Kuala Lumpur on December 10, Park pointed out it has been 10years since the team has played in a major final.
He also said since then, the two sides have met10 times, with Vietnam coming out on top in five of those matches.
He said: "Playing in front of 80,000 localfans will be very difficult, it is huge crowd, but during training, I and myassistants reminded players of this issue. We tell them how to keep calm inthat situation. Communication will be tricky because the stadium will beloud. But we will use memos and other means to pass on messages. BukitJalil will not be a problem," he said.
"Our biggest strength in the tournament isthat we have a lot of young players which means they are highlyenergetic. They may lack in experience, but we have talked a lot aboutthis in team meeting. And we will try to find a way to strengthen our side evenmore,” said Park.
Speaking about Malaysia, Park said the winagainst them in the group stage counts for nothing, as the final will be awhole different ball game.
Midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang said while herespects Malaysia as a team who are improving, the Vietnamese team were readyto beat them again.
Hoang is the most experienced player of theteam. He played at the SEA Games in 2009 when Vietnam lost 0-1 to Malaysiain the final.
"It is a sad memory but I can learn from itfor the later games in my career. We meet Malaysia again and we see they aregetting better and better. Here in Bukit Jalil excessive supporters are also bean obstacle. But we watch their videos and prepare well for the match," saidthe midfielder.
The team were given a boost after receiving aletter from Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc saying he hoped they didtheir best and the nation was hoping for a victory..
Malaysian Tan Cheng Hoe promised a ‘surprise’for Vietnam.
"We played well in Thailand and if we playwith the same momentum and spirit then I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Tan was quotedas saying on affsuzuki.com.
“Of course playing at home is a big advantagefor us and something we have to use to our benefit but if we keep our style ofplaying and play with the same belief then we can get a good result andgive Vietnam a surprise.
“We have been preparing well, training well andwe are ready for the game. A couple of players are not fully fit but we areready."
He added: “The players are always motivated toplay in Bukit Jalil. The atmosphere in this stadium is always special andalways pushes us to play well. That is why we need to take advantage of it andplay well tomorrow.”
The final will start at 7.45pm (Hanoi time) andwill be live on VTV6 channel and SBS of the Republic of Korea. Log on to the VietnamNews Facebook page for regular live updates during the match.-VNS/VNA
But coach Park Hang-seo insists his team willnot be intimidated by the 80,000 strong crowd at the Bukit Jalil stadium.
The Korean coach said he has a plan in place tobeat the home crowd in the first leg while relaying on the strength ofcharacter of the young players in the team.
Speaking to reporters at the pre-matchconference in Kuala Lumpur on December 10, Park pointed out it has been 10years since the team has played in a major final.
He also said since then, the two sides have met10 times, with Vietnam coming out on top in five of those matches.
He said: "Playing in front of 80,000 localfans will be very difficult, it is huge crowd, but during training, I and myassistants reminded players of this issue. We tell them how to keep calm inthat situation. Communication will be tricky because the stadium will beloud. But we will use memos and other means to pass on messages. BukitJalil will not be a problem," he said.
"Our biggest strength in the tournament isthat we have a lot of young players which means they are highlyenergetic. They may lack in experience, but we have talked a lot aboutthis in team meeting. And we will try to find a way to strengthen our side evenmore,” said Park.
Speaking about Malaysia, Park said the winagainst them in the group stage counts for nothing, as the final will be awhole different ball game.
Midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang said while herespects Malaysia as a team who are improving, the Vietnamese team were readyto beat them again.
Hoang is the most experienced player of theteam. He played at the SEA Games in 2009 when Vietnam lost 0-1 to Malaysiain the final.
"It is a sad memory but I can learn from itfor the later games in my career. We meet Malaysia again and we see they aregetting better and better. Here in Bukit Jalil excessive supporters are also bean obstacle. But we watch their videos and prepare well for the match," saidthe midfielder.
The team were given a boost after receiving aletter from Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc saying he hoped they didtheir best and the nation was hoping for a victory..
Malaysian Tan Cheng Hoe promised a ‘surprise’for Vietnam.
"We played well in Thailand and if we playwith the same momentum and spirit then I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Tan was quotedas saying on affsuzuki.com.
“Of course playing at home is a big advantagefor us and something we have to use to our benefit but if we keep our style ofplaying and play with the same belief then we can get a good result andgive Vietnam a surprise.
“We have been preparing well, training well andwe are ready for the game. A couple of players are not fully fit but we areready."
He added: “The players are always motivated toplay in Bukit Jalil. The atmosphere in this stadium is always special andalways pushes us to play well. That is why we need to take advantage of it andplay well tomorrow.”
The final will start at 7.45pm (Hanoi time) andwill be live on VTV6 channel and SBS of the Republic of Korea. Log on to the VietnamNews Facebook page for regular live updates during the match.-VNS/VNA
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