The Swannies have been taking some well needed rest, after a hectic first half of the year that included a draw with the current Asian Champs, big wins at home (vs Malaysia) and away (vs Cambodia), and the Saigon Cup.

Read on for the latest!

THE SAIGON CUP COMES HOME!

The Saigon Cup has come home from Phnom Penh and currently rests in a bar ‘somewhere’ in District 1 Ho Chi Minh City.

A hard fought day saw all teams have a loss in the group stages, but it was Damo Judd’s Thu Thiem Tigers that took the win in a wet final.

Once again the Khmer Cambodian Cobras were the major threat on the day and made the final, only to struggle as a thunderstorm rolled through Saigon at half time in the final. Thanks again to the Swans’ amazing sponsor Vietnam Backpacker Hostels for putting the Cobras up! Their attendance and pressure brings the tournament up to a totally higher level.

The Cho Lon Crocs and Ben Thanh Bears had 1 win a piece but were within a few kicks of pushing towards the final. The day was another amazing event and has all the potential to grow into something special in years to come!

Thu Thiem Tigers celebrating winning the 2nd Saigon Cup

The Thu Thiem Tigers celebrating their victory in the 2nd Saigon Cup!

 

HUNG PHAN RETURNS TO VIETNAM – HAS A KICK WITH THE SWANNIES

Hung Phan headed from his homeland of Vietnam to Australia when he was young. He’s fiercely proud of his Vietnamese heritage whilst having embraced the amazing facets of life in Australia. Hung plays as much footy as he can for several teams, primarily the North Sunshine Roadrunners and has been an inspiration to several other young boys of Vietnamese heritage who’ve taken up the game.

In many way Hung has some similar experiences to those of the many Swans players who have developed a life in and love for the country of Vietnam, whilst not forgetting those things back home that are uniquely Australian. Hung spent some of June back in Vietnam visiting family up and down the country.

Thankfully for us he was able to spare a bit of time for a kick with a few of the Swans. We are all looking forward to the day when Hung runs out onto the Vung Tau Dog Track in a Swans jumper to represent his birth country in the sport he loves!

Hung Phan with the Vietnam Swans

It was an honour for a few Swans to catch up with Hung as he heads towards 300 games played back in Melbourne.

 

WESTERN SYDNEY UNIVERSITY PUT ON A CLINIC FOR GREEN BAMBOO ORPHANAGE

As has become a tradition, the Western Sydney University group of students visiting Vietnam hosted a clinic for the Green Bamboo Warm Shelter. The session was meticulously planned out by the student group and enthusiastically welcomed by the Green Bamboo boys. The boys have now had a few sessions and some are showing some serious skills. It’s hoped they can move up to training with the Swans senior squad in the near future!

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The Western Sydney University touring group were generous to treat us all to a feed of Al Fresco’s pizzas, some gifts for the boys and some much needed junior footies which will be invaluable for the Swans to keep introducing young Vietnamese players to our great game. Dr Tim Hall, the tours leader was also able to secure and present GWS Giants jumper signed by the full team. Bill Crang was only too happy to accept it! This jumper will be auctioned at our upcoming mega Grand Final Party at Jaspas in Thao Dien.

Western Sydney University AFL Clinic with Green Bamboo Orphanage

Thanks again to everyone at Western Sydney University for visiting Vietnam and bringing such great attitudes! We hope the rest of the trip was enjoyable and fruitful!

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cv9 CONSIDERS JOINING THE SWANS

In an exciting coup for the Swans local development program, one of the all time great Vietnamese football players (that’s soccer for any Aussies reading) is considering ditching the round ball in favor of the oval kangaroo skin Sherrin!

Whilst overseeing his regular CV9 Academy sessions on Saturdays, Công Vinh couldn’t help but be impressed by the Swans training skills on the adjacent field. He mentioned that the new sport (AFL) looked far more exciting and physically impressive and he’d love to give it a go. He also requested to have some photos taken with some of the Swans stars fresh from their huge victory in Shanghai over the China Reds as part of the Asian Lions. The boys were only too happy to oblige and have offered to mentor Công Vinh on the nuances of Aussie Rules******. Watch this space!

******* Our reporter’s Vietnamese isn’t perfect and he may or may not have perfectly understood what Công Vinh told us.

Cong Vinh meets Vietnam Swans AFL team

Swans star Doan Dang was on hand to introduce CV9 to some of the key parts of AFL footy.

For those of you who don’t know of Công Vinh’s status here’s some info from his Wikipedia page:

“He was a part of Vietnamese national team from 2004 to 2016 as an attacker. He received three Golden Ball Awards (2004, 2006, 2007). Le is considered as one of the best football player in Vietnam football’s history, achieving the highest scores of all time in the Vietnam National Football Team. After a quiet and much criticised performance in the group stage in the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup, Vinh came through in the elimination stage. He set up the only goal in a 1–0 upset of defending champions Singapore. In the first leg of the final, Vinh scored the second to give Vietnam a victory against Thailand in Bangkok. In the second leg, Vinh set off a wild celebration throughout Vietnam as he headed home the tying goal in the last minute time to give Vietnam the first ever ASEAN Football Championship title.”

A HUGE SECOND HALF OF 2019

We’re back on the training tracks of Vietnam, and we’ve got a huge program coming up:

It’s time to get involved! See you down at training.