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Vietnamese footballers praised despite losing to Chinese rival in AFC Champions League

Xinhua, February 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Vienames media heaped Wednesday praises on the country's Becamex Binh Duong despite their 3-2 defeat to China's Shandong Luneng in the 2015 Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL).

The Thao&Van Hoa (Sports and Culture) online newspaper, an edition under Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA, ran an article titled "Losing 2-3 to Shandong Luneng should be considered Becamex Binh Duong's success", saying that the Vietnam's V-League champion deserves applause as it came close to the stronger Chinese team.

The result of the game held in Vietnam's southern Binh Duong province on Tuesday is considered an encouragement for the Vietnamese players, added the article.

Meanwhile, Thanh Nien (Young People), an online newspaper based in capital Hanoi, said Becamex Binh Duong produced a good performance against "giant" Shandong Luneng.

Speaking after the match, Becamex Binh Duong coach Nguyen Thanh Son praised his players' confidence and discipline throughout the match, in which they once held a 2-1 lead.

Son said that his players did a good job although they just gathered for training two days ahead of the match. It was a pity for the team when they lost the game with such performance, Thanh Nien quoted Son as saying.

Commenting on the article on Thanh Nien, reader Minh Quan said "Becamex Binh Duong played a great match. I am happy with their performance. Go ahead Binh Duong!"

Sharing the same view with Minh Quan, a reader wrote on VNExpress online newspaper that "It is hard for Binh Duong to progress from the same group with teams from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Binh Duong players performed quite well. Let's give them applause. I hope that Vietnam will go further at the continental games in a near future."

Also on Tuesday, Japan's Kashiwa Reysol started their AFC Champions League with a goalless draw against South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, winner of 2006 ACL and 2011 runners-up, in another match of Group E.

Shandong Luneng currently stays at the top of Group E with three points. Kashiwa Reysol and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors share the second place with one point while Vietnam's Becamex Binh Duong is at the bottom.

Shandong Luneng has made seven appearances in the ACL, with its best performance in 2005 when they reached the quarterfinals.

The AFC Champions League is an annual continental club football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

A total of 32 teams from Asia's strongest national leagues featuring the group stage tournament are divided into eight groups, with four groups from West Asia and four groups from East Asia.

Each group will compete under the round robin format, and the first two teams of each group will progress. Finally, the winner of the tournament will be qualified for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup.

The 2015 AFC Champions League is the 34th edition of the tournament. The group stage will be held from Feb. 24 to May 6, according to the AFC. Endi