Vietnamese champions of the 2008 AFF Cup reunite with Coach Calisto
VOV.VN - Ten years after helping Vietnam win the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup for the first time, championship winning head coach Henrique Calisto, along with the Vietnamese players, held a reunion in Ho Chi Minh City.
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| Former national team stars Tai Em, Minh Phuong, Phuoc Tu, Viet Thang, and Vu Phong waited for their former head coach Henrique Calisto at a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City on November 14. |
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| Calisto currently works as a technical director for a football club in China. He returned to Vietnam specifically for the reunion. |
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| The Portuguese coach shakes hands with former captain Tai Em who lifted the AFF Cup trophy at the My Dinh National Stadium 10 years ago after defeating Thailand in the second leg of the final game. |
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| Calisto and the former national team players greeted one another happily after making history for Vietnamese football 10 years ago. Coach Calisto still remembers every one of his former players, including goalkeeper Duc Cuong (R). |
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| Central defender Nguyen Minh Duc hugs his former head coach enthusiastically. He said "I was busy with work, but when I heard about team’s reunion, I left to rush into Ho Chi Minh City. This is a precious moment in my life.” |
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| Former Coach Calisto hugs Quang Hai who scored one goal against Singapore in the second leg of the semi-finals, helping Vietnam to progress to the final round. |
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| The Portugese coach talks with Vu Phong who assisted 2 goals in the 3-2 win against Malaysia in the group stage. The victory allowed Vietnam to progress to the next round. Phong is now also a coach himself. |
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| Nearly all of the 2008 AFF Cup winning team were present at the reunion. The only exceptions were goalkeeper Duong Hong Son, central defender Vu Nhu Thanh and midfielder Minh Chau. |
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| Calisto met Vo Quoc Thang, the man who was directly responsible for bringing the Portuguese coach come to Vietnam. Calisto’s first job in Vietnam was in helping Dong Tam Long An FC win V-League championship titles in 2005 and 2006. Thang also nominated Calisto to lead the Vietnamese national men’s football team. |
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| Quoc Thang also brought a picture featuring historical moments of coach Calisto from the tournament. "This is a picture invaluable to me” Thang said. |
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| The Class of 2008 footballers made a cake as a thank you to coach Calisto. Most of the team are now coaches, although a few among them including Thanh Luong, Tan Tai, Tan Truong and Duc Cuong still play as professional footballers. |
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| Earlier in the same day the AFF Cup 2008 Vietnamese champions held a friendly match against PTV Saigon FC. After the match they donated approximately VND13 million to assist handicapped former footballer Do Minh Kha. |
