HANOI (9 June 2011) – The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) have confirmed Falko Goetz as the new coach of the Vietnam national team on a two-year contract worth USD22,000 a month.
The German has been tasked with leading the Vietnam national team and the Olympic football teams in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and also the 2012 Olympic Games qualifying rounds respectively.
“I want to thank the Vietnamese fans for their warm welcome. As a man of action I cannot wait to start coaching,” said Goetz.
“As per the agreement, I’ll be working with the national and Olympic teams in preparation for various upcoming tournaments. I hope that my 30-year football experience will help bring Vietnam victory as well as boost the development of football throughout the country.”
Since 1996, the VFF have hired seven foreign coaches including Brazilian Edson Araujo Tavares, Briton Colin Murphy, German Karl Heinz Weigang, Brazilian-born Dutchman Edson Silva Dido, Portuguese Henrique Calisto, Frenchman Christian Letard and Austrian Alfred Riedl.
Vietnam’s first game in the qualifiers will be against Macao in a two-leg knockout match on 29 June and 3 July, 2011.
On the other hand, the Olympic team will take on Saudi Arabia away on 19 June before the return match in Hanoi on 23 June 2011.
In the meantime, Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) suffered their second loss in as many as matches – this time going down 2-1 to Phat Ha Noi.
Hoa Phat grabbed the lead off a penalty from Timothy Anjembe before SLNA then converted a penalty of their own at the hour mark from Nguyen Hoang Helio.
But Anjembe was not finished as he grabbed his brace and Hoa Phat’s second severa minutes later to make sure of the three points.
In spite of the loss, SLNA are still at the top of the V-League standings with 36 point – four points more than second-placed Da Nang, who went down 3-1 to defending champions Hanoi T&T.
Gaston Merlo had taken the lead for Da Nang but Hanoi were quick to cancel it out with a header from Gonzalo Marronkle.
Vietnam national striker Le Cong Vinh then put Hanoi in front for the first time in the game from the penalty spot before midfielder Vo Duy Nam then put the match beyond Da Nang’s reach with the third goal.
The win for Hanoi helped them move a spot up into fourth with 28 points with a game in hand while Da Nang maintained second place with 32 points.
In the other matches, former champions Becamex Binh Duong beat Khatoco Khanh Hoa by 2-0, Dong Tam Long An drew with Vissai Ninh Binh by 2-2 and Dong Thap edging out Hai Phong Cement 2-0.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai trounced Ha Noi ACB 6-1 while Thanh Hoa won 2-0 on the road over Navibank Sai Gon.
CURRENT V-LEAGUE 2011 STANDINGS
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | ||
| 1 | Sông Lam Nghệ An | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 14 | +16 | 36 | |
| 2 | Ðà Nẵng | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 35 | 22 | +13 | 32 | |
| 3 | Thanh Hóa | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 29 | |
| 4 | Hà Nội T&T | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 21 | +6 | 28 | |
| 5 | Đồng Tháp | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 27 | |
| 6 | Bình Dương | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 25 | |
| 7 | Hoàng Anh Gia Lai | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 24 | |
| 8 | Navibank Saigon | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 23 | |
| 9 | Hòa Phát Hà Nội | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 22 | |
| 10 | The Vissai Ninh Bình | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 26 | −6 | 20 | |
| 11 | Hải Phòng | 18 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 26 | −9 | 20 | |
| 12 | Khatoco Khánh Hoà | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 22 | −7 | 19 | |
| 13 | Hà Nội ACB | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 26 | 40 | −14 | 19 | |
| 14 | Đồng Tâm Long An | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 30 | −13 | 18 |
