Vietnam v United Arab Emirates (2007 AFC Asian Cup)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 The Mỹ Đình National Stadium held the match | |||||||
| Event | 2007 AFC Asian Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 8 July 2007 | ||||||
| Venue | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi | ||||||
| Referee | Talaat Najm (Lebanon) | ||||||
| Attendance | 39,450 | ||||||
The men's national association football teams of Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates played a match on 8 July 2007 as part of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. The game marked the debut of a united Vietnamese national football team at the continental level. Previously, only South Vietnam had played in competitive tournaments. Vietnam qualified for the tournament as one of four co-hosts of the 2007 Asian Cup, along with Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
In the UAE as well as the Arab world, the match was dubbed the Disaster of Hanoi (Arabic: كارثة هانوي), as the UAE suffered a denting loss to a much weaker and less developed host nation.[citation needed] Meanwhile in Vietnam, the match has been significant due to its influence on the future development of Vietnamese football and is remembered as the Miracle of Hanoi (Vietnamese: Điều kỳ diệu ở Hà Nội).[citation needed] The match has been very deep-rooted in Vietnamese society and is still often referred to by Vietnamese fans and press to cheer themselves up against opponents from the Middle East.[1][2]
Initially, Vietnam was split into two national teams: North Vietnam and South Vietnam. As a member of both the AFC and FIFA, South Vietnam played the first two editions of the AFC Asian Cup in 1956 and 1960. North Vietnam on the other hand was not an AFC or FIFA member and therefore did not play in any international tournaments.
The Vietnam War, along with subsequent conflicts after 1975 against the Khmer Rouge and China, resulted in a crippling economic downturn. Football development was severely stunted as a result of these wars, as well as international sanctions and isolation. However, economic reforms in 1986 marked Vietnam's return to the international stage and their reappearance in international football.
The United Arab Emirates first appeared at an Asian Cup in 1980. The team later qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, their only World Cup to date. The Emiratis went on to become runners-up of the 1996 AFC Asian Cup on home soil and qualified for the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup, their second FIFA tournament. By the time they qualified for the 2007 Asian Cup, they were led by Frenchman Bruno Metsu, who helped Senegal reach the quarter-finals in their maiden 2002 FIFA World Cup. He led the UAE to win the 18th Arabian Gulf Cup, again on home soil.
The UAE was believed to be the better team leading up to the match and even with Vietnam being the hosts, there were little expectations that Vietnam could win.
Pre-match
Vietnam
Vietnam was regarded as an unskilled and uncoordinated team and had a below-average performance in the 2006 World Cup qualification phase, finishing third in their group with a record of 1-1-4. Vietnam's performance had also suffered criticism at the 2007 AFF Championship, when they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Thailand following a 0-2 defeat at home and a 0-0 away draw. Due to these disappointing performances, coach Alfred Riedl said he had low expectations. Vietnam were drawn against three previous champions in its group: defending champions Japan, 2006 Asian Games champion Qatar and Arabian Gulf Cup champions the UAE.[3] To make matters worse, Vietnam was the lowest-ranked team in the competition, ranking 172nd at the time.
To prepare for the competition, Vietnam played two friendlies against Jamaica and Bahrain, with the latter sharing common cultural ties with the United Arab Emirates and finished fourth at the previous Asian Cup. Vietnam managed to beat Jamaica 3–0 before creating a goal fever in a 5–3 win against Bahrain.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE suffered an injury crisis leading up to the tournament, but were expected to win this match anyway. The UAE, having just won the Arabian Gulf Cup the same year, had several top stars in their squad, notably Ismail Matar, Amer Mubarak and Faisal Khalil. They were also led by Frenchman Bruno Metsu, who led Senegal to the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Moreover, the UAE also had the upper hand in the FIFA rankings, ranking 87th at the time.
