Viet Nam News
HA NOI — V.League champions Ha Noi FC will start their Asian Football Confederation Cup Group Stage campaign against Ceres Negros from the Philippines in Ha Noi.
In a press briefing on Monday, coach Chu Dinh Nghiem of Ha Noi showed his respect for the visiting side.
“I watched their matches last season and it seemed that they are a good team. Their four foreign players from Japan and Spain will be a concern in the match,” said Nghiem.
Ha Noi, formerly Ha Noi T&T, will play the game without several key players such as midfielder Pham Thanh Luong and defenders Nguyen Dai Dong and Sam Ngoc Duc because of injuries.
However rising star Nguyen Quang Hai is in top form and captain Gonzalo Damian Marronkle is back in action after an injury.
“Although the absence of these players does weaken us, our playing style will be maintained because I have my substitutes. We will try to control the match,” Nghiem said.
The Vietnamese side, who lost to 2-3 to Hong Kong’s Kitchee in the AFC Champions League’s qualification round last month, reached the AFC Cup quarter-finals in 2014.
On the other side, coach Risto Vidakovic Savic of Ceres Negros praised Ha Noi’s young star Hai.
He said he saw five or six Ha Noi matches. The Vietnamese team had quality players but captain Marronkle and midfielder Hai were the star men.
The Serbian also said Ha Noi were on form in their domestic league while the Philippine season doesn’t start until April.
However Savic said it was not a major problem for his team. What was important was the spirit of players and he believed they would perform well.
Ceres Negros will bring 13 current or former national team players to Viet Nam.
The 2016 United Football League runners-up Ceres Negros reached the round of 16 last year but were eliminated after a 0-1 extra-time loss to South China.
The match will kick off at 6pm at My Dinh National Stadium. It will be aired live on VTV6. — VNS