2008 AFF Championship final
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 Vietnam national football team at the second leg match on December 28, 2008. | |||||||
| Event | 2008 AFF Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Vietnam won the championship for the first time. | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | 24 December 2008 | ||||||
| Venue | Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Nguyễn Vũ Phong (Vietnam) | ||||||
| Referee | Ramachandran Krishnan (Malaysia) | ||||||
| Attendance | 50,000 | ||||||
| Weather | Clear sky | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
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| Date | 28 December 2008 | ||||||
| Venue | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Nguyễn Minh Phương (Vietnam) | ||||||
| Referee | Abdul Malik (Singapore) | ||||||
| Attendance | 40,000 | ||||||
| Weather | Cold | ||||||
The 2008 AFF Championship final was the final match of the 2008 AFF Championship organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The match was played over two legs between Vietnam and Thailand. The first leg was held at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on 24 December, while the second leg was held at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi on 28 December 2008.
Vietnam won the final with a total score of 3–2 after both matches to become the AFF Cup champion for the first time in history, since the tournament was renamed in 2007. This victory of the Vietnamese team was ranked by the website Goal.com as one of the top 10 outstanding Asian football events of 2008,[1] as well as voted by Vietnamnet readers as one of the top 10 outstanding events of Vietnam in the year.[2] This victory marked the first time Vietnam won a regional tournament, and the first time in 10 years since Vietnam lost in the final of the 1998 Tiger Cup.
Vietnam
Ahead of the 2008 AFF Championship, Vietnam entered the tournament with high expectations but also a lot of pressure. A year earlier, the team had made a big splash when, for the first time in history, they advanced past the group stage of an AFC Asian Cup and reached the quarter-finals after an impressive 2–0 victory over the United Arab Emirates. The achievement at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup was considered an important milestone, helping Vietnamese football affirm its new position in the continental arena and receive great attention from the regional media.[3]
However, at that time, Vietnamese football was still in the process of recovery and reconstruction after the match-fixing scandal involving a number of players of the U-23 team at the 2005 SEA Games. This incident severely affected the image of the team, forcing the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to carry out a series of reforms in organization, management and player training.[4] In that context, many youth football academies were established to systematically develop the next generation of human resources, notably the Hoang Anh Gia Lai - Arsenal JMG Academy established in 2007.[4]
Despite never having won the AFF Cup before, the Vietnamese team entered the tournament with great confidence from domestic fans, based on their improved performance from the Asian Cup and their determination to assert their position after a long period of internal pressure. That context created a strong motivation for the team to aim for the highest goal in this tournament.
Thailand
Before the 2008 AFF Cup, the Thai team entered the tournament as co-hosts, planning to hold the group stage matches in Bangkok. However, the unstable political situation in the capital forced the Organizing Committee to move all these matches to Phuket on November 29, 2008.[5] Organizing the tournament manually like that further increased the professional pressure on the Thai team.[5]
In terms of force, after being unable to advance deep in the World Cup qualifiers (losing in the third group stage), coach Charnwit Polcheewin officially resigned on June 25, 2008.[6] Peter Reid—former England manager—was then appointed on 23 July, set to take up the role on 1 September, also taking charge of the U20 team.[6] The 2008 AFF Cup campaign was an opportunity for Thailand to win the championship for the 8th time in history, following the previous 7 championships.
Route to the final
Note: In all results below, the finalist's score is given first. (H: Home, A: Away)
 Thailand |
Round |  Vietnam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opponent | Score | Group stage | Opponent | Score | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnam |
2–0 | Match 1 | Thailand |
0–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Laos |
6–0 | Match 2 |  Malaysia |
3–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malaysia |
3–0 | Match 3 | Laos |
4–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First in Group B
|
Final standings | Second in Group B
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| Opponent | AGG | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout stage | Opponent | AGG | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Indonesia |
3–1 | 1–0 (A) | 2–1 (H) | Semi-final |  Singapore |
1–0 | 0–0 (H) | 1–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thailand
Thailand were drawn into Group B along with Vietnam, Malaysia and Laos. The group stage of Group B was originally scheduled to be held in Bangkok, however due to the unstable political situation, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) moved all matches to Phuket province.[5] Under the guidance of coach Peter Reid, the Thai team showed superior performance compared to the opponents in the same group.
In the opening match, Thailand defeated Vietnam 2–0, thereby creating a big advantage in the race for a ticket to the next round.[7] Next, the team beat Laos 6–0 in the second match, before ending the group stage with a 3–0 victory over Malaysia. After 3 matches, Thailand won 9 absolute points, scored 11 goals and conceded none, thereby topping Group B with an outstanding goal difference. In the semi-finals, Thailand met Indonesia – the runner-up in Group A. In the first leg in Jakarta, the away team won 1–0 thanks to the ability to control the game and make good use of set pieces. In the second leg at home, Thailand continued to show their superiority and won 2–1. With a total score of 3-1 after two matches, Thailand has appeared in an AFF Cup final for the seventh time.
Vietnam
Vietnam were also in Group B, and opened the tournament with a match against Thailand, a rival with many ties in the region. Despite starting the match with determination, Vietnam lost 0–2 in this match.[7] However, coach Henrique Calisto’s team did not let the initial defeat affect the overall spirit of the team. In the second match, Vietnam faced Malaysia and won a thrilling 3-2 victory, opening up great hope for a ticket to the semi-finals. In the final match, the team played convincingly and defeated Laos 4–0, closing the group stage with 6 points. With this achievement, Vietnam ranked second in Group B, after Thailand, and won the right to continue.[8]
In the semi-finals, Vietnam faced Singapore, the defending champion and host of Group A. The first leg at My Dinh Stadium ended with a score of 0–0 in a tight and calculating match. In the second leg at the Singapore National Stadium, Vietnam surprisingly won 1–0 thanks to the decisive goal of striker Nguyen Quang Hai. With this result, Vietnam entered the AFF Cup final for the second time in history.[9]
Matches
First leg
| Thailand | 1–2 | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
Dương Hồng Sơn  75' (o.g.) |
Report | Nguyễn Vũ Phong 40' Lê Công Vinh 42' |
       Thailand
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 Vietnam
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Player of the match:
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Second leg
| Vietnam | 1–1 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| Lê Công Vinh 90+4' |
Report | Teerasil Dangda 21' |
Vietnam
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Thailand
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Player of the match:
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Vietnam win with aggregate 3–2.
