Football

Binh Duong FC’s coach Phan Thanh Hung (left) has just resigned, the fourth coach who lost his job in V-League.

So far, Saigon FC, Hanoi FC, Hong Linh Ha Tinh FC and the latest, Binh Duong FC, have changed their coaches for the same reason: the teams did not perform well.

Of the four coaches who have lost their position, except for Japanese coach Masahiro Shimoda who has not left any impression, the rest have proven their ability in the V-League for many years. However, they were unable to hold their seats. They were fired or actively resigned.

Looking at the last rounds in the V-League, it can be said that the 2021 football season is exciting, stressful and full of surprises. And this makes the seats of coaches of V-League clubs more fragile.

HAGL FC’s Thai coach Kiatisuk (left) and HAGL Chairman Doan Nguyen Duc.

It seems that some other clubs also plan to change their coaches. It is rumored that HCM City FC is seeking a deal with former football star Dusit to be its new coach, replacing Mano Polking or Hanoi FC, although recently replacing coach Chu Dinh Nghiem by Hoang Van Phuc, wants to hire a Korean coach to replace Phuc.

Those are the most obvious movements, but when the V-League enters the upcoming fierce period, no one is really sure they can keep their job until the end of the 2021 season.

But there is an exception, Thai coach Kiatisuk at Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) FC. Kiatisuk can’t be named right now in the group of coaches who are at risk of losing their jobs in the V-League when HAGL ranks first in V-League 2021 and is the biggest candidate for the championship this year.

Mai Anh

The Vietnamese pencak silat team has enjoyed a fruitful medal hunt at the 2018 Asian Games (Asiad), with two fighters snatching one gold each in overwhelming victories, and three others claiming silvers in Indonesia on Wednesday.

When Vietnamese sports lovers were upset by their beloved team’s 1-3 defeat against South Korea in the men’s football semifinals, pencak silat martial artists Nguyen Van Tri and Tran Dinh Nam helped brighten up their mood as they snatched two golds in the men’s 90-95kg and 70-75kg events, respectively.

Both the Vietnamese athletes claimed a convincing 5-0 triumph in their respective final matches against two Malaysian opponents, Yaacob Mohd Khaizul and Khalid Mohd Fauzi.

Tri and Nam helped the Vietnamese sport delegation overshoot their goal of bringing home at least three gold medals, with at least one in an Olympic sport, from the Games.

The other gold medalists of Team Vietnam are the female rowing team and long jumper Bui Thi Thu Thao. Both rowing and the long jump are Olympic sports.

Earlier on Wednesday, the pencak silat martial artists added a silver medal to Vietnam’s tally as Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, Nguyen Thi Huyen and Vuong Thi Binh finished second in the women’s team final with 464 points, just two points behind the Indonesian champions.

Vietnamese and Indonesian athletes also clashed for the gold medal in two other events, man’s class C 55-60kg and women’s class B 50-55kg, on the afternoon of the same day, with Nguyen Thai Linh and Tran Thi Them both losing to their host contenders.

Team Vietnam was scheduled to compete in athletics, Judo, Kurash, table tennis, volleyball, canoeing and serak takraw on Thursday.

Vietnam stood at the 13th place in the medal tally, with four golds, 15 silvers and 13 bronzes as of Thursday morning, three days before the 2018 Asian Games comes to an end.

The 2018 Asian Games takes place in Indonesia from August 18 to September 2 with the theme “Energy of Asia.”

Vietnam’s sports delegation to the Games consists of 532 members, including 352 athletes.

* Global stocks hit a record high and oil climbed after strong US and Chinese economic data bolstered expectations of a solid global recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump.

* China is willing to strengthen cooperation with France and Germany to cope with climate change, President Xi Jinping told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese state media reported on Friday.

* India pledged on Friday to raise monthly production of its own COVID-19 vaccine about tenfold to nearly 100 million doses by September, as immunisations have slowed in the country despite a surge in new infections.

* President Vladimir Putin discussed retaliatory sanctions against the United States on Friday with Russia’s security council after Washington hit Moscow with an array of punitive measures, the RIA news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying.

* Brazil is in talks with Spain and other countries as hospitals are running out of emergency drugs, its health minister said on Thursday amid reports of the seriously ill being tied down and intubated without effective sedatives.

* No decision has been made yet on whether the European Union should sign new contracts for vaccines with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, a French junior industry minister said.

* Negotiating teams for Iran and the United States will return home for internal discussions on how to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal, a European Union official said on Friday, after Tehran’s decision to ramp up uranium enrichment complicated talks in Vienna.

* India on Friday called for a ceasefire in Afghanistan and said it was deeply concerned about targetted killings of people in that country.

* Thailand will close schools, bars and massage parlours, as well as ban alcohol sales in restaurants, for at least two weeks starting from Sunday after a jump in cases, a senior official said.

* Food prices in West Africa have jumped more than 30% since last year to their highest levels in nearly a decade due to coronavirus lockdowns and a decline in cereal production, the World Food Programme (WFP) said Friday.

* Greece’s centre-right government said on Friday it wanted a “positive agenda” with Turkey despite differences, a day after their foreign ministers clashed during a news conference, while President Tayyip Erdogan defended Ankara’s response.

* German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged lawmakers to approve new powers that would allow her to force lockdowns and curfews on areas with high infection rates.

* The French government is working on gradually re-opening some cultural and leisure venues from mid-May onwards, government spokesman told France Info radio.

* Finland said it would allow all restaurants to reopen next week after a steady fall in infection rates over the past month.

* Denmark said it would reopen the economy sooner than expected as infections decrease, allowing indoor service at restaurants and cafes and football fans to cheer from the stands from April 21.

* Sweden will ease restrictions on those, mostly elderly, citizens who have had at least one vaccination shot against COVID-19, the Public Health Agency said.

* London’s FTSE 100 rose above the 7,000-mark for the first time since the pandemic pummelled financial markets last year.

* Portugal has lifted its ban on flights to and from Britain and Brazil for work and studies but not for tourism, the government said on Friday, while restrictions on travel by land and sea to Spain will stay in place for another 15 days.

* A shortage of coronavirus shots may force the Madrid region to close down mass vaccination centres next week, the regional public health chief said on Friday, as infections in the Spanish capital outpace the national average.

* People in their 30s showed up in their hundreds on Friday morning as Latvia offered the AstraZeneca vaccine to anyone who wanted it in order to clear a growing backlog of the shot often refused by the old.

* Many Africans who have received their first vaccine do not know when they will get a second shot because deliveries are delayed, the continent’s top public health official said on Thursday.

* The coronavirus is killing one person every four minutes in Iran, state TV reported on Thursday.

Alexandre Lacazette scored twice, including a penalty, while Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka also found the net in the quarter-final second leg to set up a last-four clash with Villarreal. Arsenal next face their former manager Unai Emery’s side who beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate to reach the semis.

* Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-finals after Edinson Cavani’s early strike and a Jesus Vallejo own goal secured a 2-0 home win over Granada on Thursday and completed a 4-0 aggregate rout of the Spanish side. United will face AS Roma for a place in the May 26 final in Gdansk after the Italian side ground out a 3-2 aggregate win over Ajax Amsterdam with a 1-1 home draw in the second leg of their quarter-final.

* Two-times Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso said on Thursday he was not sure he would race the Indianapolis 500 again. The US race is the final part of the so-called “Triple Crown of Motorsport” which Alonso wants to complete after winning the Le Mans 24 Hours, twice, and Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix.

* MotoGP world champion Joan Mir will race at this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix without his crew chief Frankie Carchedi who has tested positive for COVID-19, his Suzuki team said on Thursday. Carchedi tested positive in pre-travel tests and did not fly to Portugal, going into isolation instead. The rest of the crew received negative results.

* Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang contracted malaria while on international duty with Gabon last month and spent time in hospital this week, he said on Thursday. Aubameyang played one match for Gabon as they booked their place in the Africa Cup of Nations finals and he has started one Arsenal game since returning to England.

* Max Verstappen took a long-term view of his Formula One battle with seven-times champion Lewis Hamilton on Thursday and said finishing second to his Mercedes rival in last month’s Bahrain season-opener was nothing to be upset about. The 23-year-old Dutch driver struck observers with his calm after starting on pole at Sakhir but finishing second to Hamilton after having to give back a lead he gained by going off-track.

* Red card replacements are among three innovative laws set to be trialled in this year’s Rainbow Cup after being approved by World Rugby, organisers Pro14 said on Thursday. Players who receive a red card can be replaced 20 minutes after they are sent off by one of the team’s nominated replacements.

* The International Tennis Federation on Thursday said the qualification period for this year’s Tokyo Olympics would be extended by a week until Jun 14 to accommodate the postponement of the French Open due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The French Tennis Federation last week said the claycourt Grand Slam would be held one week later than originally planned, beginning on May 24 and finishing on Jun 13.

* Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin will miss Friday’s Premier League game at home to Tottenham Hotspur as he recovers from injury, but goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and midfielders Allan and Andre Gomes are available, manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Thursday. Calvert-Lewin, Everton’s top-scorer with 19 goals this season, was sidelined for Monday’s 0-0 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion due to an abductor problem, but is expected to return in time for their trip to Arsenal next week.

* World number one Novak Djokovic crashed out in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters following a 6-4, 7-5 defeat by Britain’s Dan Evans on Thursday. The 30-year-old Evans emerged triumphant in the pair’s first meeting to end the Serb’s perfect 10-0 start in 2021.

* The Professional Footballers’ Association and FIFPRO, the global players’ union, have called on football’s lawmakers to consider launching trials into temporary concussion substitutes to better protect players who suffer head injuries. The game’s rule-making body IFAB in December gave the go-ahead for trials of permanent concussion substitutes following which the Premier League and Women’s Super League introduced the system in February.

* Strugglers Hertha Berlin players and staff were sent into isolation for 13 days after coach Pal Dardai, assistant coach Admir Hamzagic and striker Dodi Lukebakio tested positive for COVID-19, the club said. Sports director Arne Friedrich will provisionally take over as coach with the team living together until then and leaving their designated base only for matches and training.

* Ariarne Titmus made a successful return to the pool after a three-month layoff with a shoulder problem by claiming the 200 metres freestyle title at Australia’s national championships on Thursday. Titmus, the 400m freestyle world champion, posted a time of one minute and 55.43 seconds in the final, the third fastest of the year behind American rival Katie Ledecky, who swam 1:54.40 and 1:55.40 in California last week.