(Sports) Top-ten highlights of Vietnamese football in 2014

Vietnam's national football underwent an exciting year of 2014 with both positive and negative moments. Following are the top-ten highlights for Vietnamese football in the year selected by local Nhan Dan Daily on Monday:

1. Japanese coach in charge of Vietnam's national teams

Japanese expert Toshiya Miura has been in charge of the men's national football team and the national Olympic team under a two- year contract signed with the Vietnam Football Federation in Ho Chi Minh City on May 10, 2014.

After a few months in charge, Miura has proved his deep knowledge of football and has brought new life to Vietnam's national teams. The 51-year-old coach had his competence affirmed by leading the Vietnam Olympic team to round of 16 at the 17th Asian Games (Asiad), and the national team through to the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup semifinals.

2. Vietnam Olympic team makes a big surprise at the 17th Asiad

After over three months of working with Vietnamese football, Toshiya Miura led the Vietnam Olympic team to compete in the 17th Asiad, aiming to help young players gain experience and select outstanding faces for the national team. His players excelled beyond expectation, beating reigning champions Iran with a stunning score of 4-1 in their Asiad opener before qualifying for the 16th round as group leaders for the first time in history.

3. Vietnamese women claim first-ever Asiad semifinal berth

Vietnam's women footballers also reached another milestone in national football history by making the Asiad semifinal round for the first time ever.

They lost 0-5 to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in their opening group match, but promptly redeemed themselves with a 5-0 win over China's Hong Kong in the last one, qualifying for the quarterfinal, in which they beat Thailand 2-1 to make the semifinal round.

Despite failing to conquer Japan in the semifinal and the Republic of Korea in the bronze medal match, Vietnamese female players still won lots of praises from local fans.

4. Becamex Binh Duong reaps a successful year

2014 proved to be a fabulous year for Becamex Binh Duong, making history as the first team to claim the V-League title three times after winning the 2014 crown.

As defending V-League champions, Binh Duong booked a berth in the group stage of the 2015 AFC Champions League after meeting the Asian Football Confederation's club licensing requirements.

Binh Duong concluded their 2014 football campaign winning the National Super Cup trophy on Dec. 27 against Vicem Hai Phong.

5. Men's team make AFF Suzuki Cup semifinals

2014 witnessed a stunning comeback of the Vietnam men's national team in the AFF Suzuki Cup arena. The national squad, coached by Japanese Toshiya Miura, was qualified for the knockout round as Group A leaders with two wins over Laos (3-0) and the Philippines (3-1) and a 2-2 draw against Indonesia.

Vietnamese men had home fans on their feet again with a resounding 2-1 victory over Malaysia in their first-leg semifinal clash at Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor. However they lost 2-4 in the second leg on home field, failing to claim the final berth.

6. A fever named U19 Vietnam

After finishing second at the 2013 AFF U19 Youth Championship in Indonesia, the Vietnam U19 national football team attracted public attention with a generation of promising young footballers.

In 2014, the team participated in five international tournaments including the international U19 competition in HCM City, the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy international tournament in Brunei, the AFF U-19 Youth Championship in Hanoi, the AFC U19 Championship finals in Myanmar, and the international U21 tournament in Can Tho city.

With their enthusiastic, skillful and eye-catching playing style, U19 Vietnam promises to be the breadwinners of the national, national U22 and national U23 teams in the near future.

7. Debates over age fraud suspicion of Vietnam U19 team's captain

Whether Cong Phuong, an emerging star of Vietnamese football and captain of the Vietnam national U19 team, was born in 1995 or 1993, took central stage for two months with many contrariwise viewpoints, forcing authorized agencies to intervene and identify the player's real age. The final conclusion was officially announced by the Nghe An provincial Justice Department, clarifying that he was born in 1995, which also meant he was not lying about his age.

8. U19 Vietnam fails to make FIFA U20 World Cup finals

Vietnam's U19 football team participated in the 2014 AFC U19 Championship finals in Myanmar, aiming to finish among the top four teams to qualify for the 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand.

However, drawn in a group made up of powerhouses including Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, the Vietnamese men had to bid farewell to their dream right after the group-stage qualification. Cong Phuong and his teammates lost 0-6 to the Republic of Korea in the opener, succumbing 1-3 to Japan in their second and holding China to a surprising 1-1 draw in their last group game.

9. Vietnam's women footballers drop World Cup ticket

The Vietnamese women's national football team missed the chance to join the world's biggest football festival, the FIFA Women's World Cup, in Canada in 2015, after they slumped to a 1-2 defeat against Thailand in the fifth-place playoff at the 2014 AFC Women' s Asian Cup finals in HCM City last May.

The finals brought together eight teams, competing for the continent's five World Cup slots. With Japan, Australia, China and the Republic of Korea ending up in the top four, Vietnam and Thailand faced off in a playoff for the remaining berth. The Vietnamese women could not seize this golden opportunity to realize their long-standing World Cup dream.

10. Two match-fixing cases unveiled

Vietnamese football faced two match-fixing cases involving nine Vissai Ninh Binh players in the AFC Cup and six Dong Nai players in the national top-tier V-League. The discovery and handling of those match-fixing culprits reflected strong determination of the Vietnam Football Federation in their anti-match fixing campaign. Endi