Vietnam’s national football team set the country on fire at the Asian Football Confederation U23 Championship in January by defying all the odds, and in doing so catapulted goalkeper Bui Tien Dung to stardom. Vietnam became the first Southeast Asian team to make it to the quarterfinals, and then shocked everyone by making it to the final. Despite losing to Uzbekistan in the last minute of extra time in the final, Vietnam’s players and Dung in particular won over pundits and fans for their astonishing perfomances, with many people saying it was the best they had ever seen a Vietnamese team play. And Dung was one of the main reasons for Vietnam’s progression to the latter stages of the tournament. Dung stood firm in penalty shootouts in the quarterfinal against Iraq and then the semifinal against Qatar, and he produced some brilliant displays during normal time to get his team that far. For the 20-year-old and his team, things have changed since they returned from the AFC U23 Cup. In a recent interview with VnExpress, Dung shared how his life has changed since all that drama. How has your life changed since the U23 Asian Cup? No one knew or cared about who I was before, but now, wherever I go, people recognize me. Sometimes people even follow me to have a chat when I go out for breakfast. I’m happy but it feels a bit awkward. That sudden change has surprised me, but I always tell myself to keep… [Read full story]
Tien Dung was one of Vietnam’s standout performers during their dramatic semi-final win over Qatar, with the custodian stopping efforts from Ahmad Moein and Sultan Al Brake to help seal a 4-3 penalty shootout win after 120 minutes of enthralling football had produced a 2-2 draw. With the Uzbekistan showdown looming large, Tien Dung is adamant that Vietnam will give their all against opponents they faced as recently as December. “We played against Uzbekistan in a friendly tournament in Thailand, and I think they are a strong team,” he said. “For them to reach the final means that they are…... [read more]
Nhan Dan Online - Le Hung Dung has been elected to a four-year tenure as the new chairman of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). He was given the nod at a meeting of the VFF Congress, seventh tenure held in Hanoi on March 25. Dung was the only candidate for the chairmanship, and took the post with 60 out of 62 votes. After the announcement, the newly elected chairman pledged to try his best to bring Vietnamese football further success in the future. He suggested renovating the nation's current football model to reflect the more professional model employed in Japan.…... [read more]
"Vietnam is a consumer market of huge potential in the same league as several other markets in Asia" Unilever Vietnam has landed the year 2010 with a remarkable growth rate, which is expected to be even higher in the coming years with its new chairman. Joining Unilever in India as a management trainee, more than two decades back and having worked across different countries and categories in the UK, Malaysia, China, Singapore, newly-appointed Unilever Vietnam chairman JV Raman talks to VIR's Duong Kieu about how he is going to take the company to the next phase of growth and success.…... [read more]
The recent football match fixing scams that rocked Vietnam have been separated into four cases by police with investigations on the first of the four to wrap up soon and be tried in court, said police. According to police, they uncovered four match fixing and betting rings in football in Vietnam. They are the match fixing ring with involvement of East Asia Bank - Pomina Steel (EAB-PS) football club, the SEA Games 23 match fixing ring of Vietnam's U23 national football team, the match fixing ring in V-League club Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) to buy championship title in 2000-2001…... [read more]
Nine players of V-League side Vissai Ninh Binh, who admitted to having won US$37,700 after betting on their own match against Malaysian rivals at an Asian cup last month, will be prohibited from engaging in football (soccer) in Vietnam forever, a top Vietnamese football official has said. All the players involved will be permanently eliminated from football activities in Vietnam," Le Hung Dung, chairman of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), told Tuoi Tre ahead of his trip to Malaysia for an Asian Football Confederation scheduled for April 12. Dung also hailed Vissai Ninh Binh club owner Hoang Manh Tuong's decision…... [read more]