Coaches and football experts commented on the feeble and spiritless mind of Vietnam's national U-23 team in their 4-1 loss to Myanmar in last night’s bronze medal game.
Vietnam’s German coach, Falko Goetz, told the media after the match in Indonesia, “I want to beg for an apology from our fans for finishing the tournament in such a way.”
“I had thought ahead of the game that my players would try hard to win a bronze, but it was just a disappointment.
“Maybe they were in low spirits after a 2-0 loss against host Indonesia in the semifinals on Saturday,” the coach added.
“We can lose thanks to inferior talent or weaker strength. But here, the most heart-breaking thing is that we lost the game thanks to poor spirit,” said the former vice chairman of the Vietnam Football Federation.
A fan named Vuong Tri wrote to Tuoi Tre, “I never saw any effort from the Vietnamese players despite the fact that they were scored on once, twice, thrice and finally four times.”
Another fan, Tran Van Hong from Ho Chi Minh City, who travelled to Jakarta to support the team, said, “We are so disappointed. We tried to hold our tears at seeing our team competing in such a way. They were playing as if they were in the lead and were simply waiting for the match to end.”
“This is undoubtedly the most painful loss of Vietnam football in the last ten years. Our players staged a spiritless performance,” football expert Tran Van Phuc told Tuoi Tre.
Coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh of Hoa Phat Hanoi FC said bluntly, “This loss should not be blamed on coach Falko Goetz. All Vietnam could provide him were weak defenders, slack midfielders, and not a single striker giving a full effort.”
“This is the worst Vietnamese national team in many years,” he noted.
In the final match yesterday, Malaysia successfully defended their title by beating host Indonesia 4-3 in a penalty shootout after both sides drew 1-1 during the 120 minutes of regular time.
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