Football

HÀ NỘI — SHB Đà Nẵng are seeking to win this year’s title at the Toyota Mekong Cup, said club President Bùi Xuân Hòa, prior to his team’s departure for the tournament in Laos.

The Vietnamese team will play the opener against Lanexang United FC of the hosts at Anouvong Stadium in Vientiane today.

“We have our best players ready for the competition. Our foreign strikers, Gaston Merlo and Teofilo Eydison, are in good form. New signings, such as Bùi Văn Long, Nguyễn Văn Thắng and Võ Nhật Tân, are excited to play in their new jerseys”, noted Hòa.Merlo is the V.League’s best striker, with 24 goals in the 2015-16 season. Eydison played in the second period with Đà Nẵng, and netted eight times.

In the second match of the group round, Đà Nẵng meets Yadanarbon FC of Myanmar on December 23 at Hà Nội’s Mỹ Đình Stadium.

The winner of this stage will enter the semi-finals and play Cambodian Boeung Ket Angkor FC on December 31.Defending champions Buriram Utd from Thailand will wait for their rival in the final match in January.

“It might not be an easy journey. We have to start from the group round against the strongest teams from Laos and Myanmar, and then the champions of Cambodia and finally the reigning winners. It will be tough for us,” said coach Lê Huỳnh Đức.

“Anyways, we must play with our best because we are representing Việt Nam. We will fight for the title,” he said.During their preparation for the tournament, Đà Nẵng was faced with changes in their line-up when midfielder Trần Hải Lâm retired, while captain Phạm Nguyên Sa and defender Châu Lê Phước Vĩnh, along with some senior players, found new homes.

The club has filled the holes with other players and promoted some players from younger squads to the first team.

The Totoya event will be the first chance that current and new team members play together, said coach Đức. — VNS