Guardian reporter hails Vietnam footballer but cites wrong video
Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 16:44 GMT+7
A seasoned reporter covering Asia football (soccer) was unstinting in his praise for a young Vietnamese player when he mentioned him in the list of world’s best young football talents, but ended up sharing a link to a YouTube video featuring a total different footballer.
John Duerden, an Asia-based sports journalist, attached the wrong YouTube link in an apparent mistake when he described Phan Thanh Hau, a member of the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Arsenal JMG Academy, in the “Next Generation 2014” list published Tuesday in The Guardian.
The British newspaper says the list comprises “some of the best young talent in world football” who were all born in 1997.
Besides remarking about players from Japan, China, and South Korea, Duerden also made a vivid description of midfielder Hau, who was in the official squad of Vietnam in the clash against Japan at the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship last week.
Japan opened a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute, and Vietnam managed to level the score in the 89th as midfielder Thanh Tung netted a goal from a quick counter-attack initiated by Hau.
“Phan Thanh Hau is the heartbeat of [Vietnam’s] midfield, always available and ready to spray passes short and long and to use a deft first touch to create space for a lovely left-foot to pry open opposition defences,” the Asia football correspondent for The Guardian, BBC Radio, and ESPN says of the Vietnamese player.
Duerden said Hau’s next move “is either to the V-League or Europe.”
At the end of the description, Duerden left a link, named “Watch Phan Thanh Hau in action.”
But the link points to a YouTube video titled “Cong Phuong – Vietnam U19s – Hoang Anh Gia Lai – Part 3,” which captures the Vietnamese striker in a friendly game against Arsenal U19s. (http://y2u.be/otGpXsHtJzs)
It is unclear why the journalist chose the wrong video when the title clearly says it is about Cong Phuong.
The Arsenal game was the first exhibition match of Vietnam U19s during their training session in England, and the away team beat the host 3-0.
Cong Phuong is one of the stars at Vietnam U19s, together with Tuan Anh and Xuan Truong, but none of them are in The Guardian list because they are all over 18 years old.
Besides the Vietnamese midfielder, Singapore’s Irfan Ahmad is the second representative of Southeast Asia in the list.
Spain dominates the list with three players: Villarreal’s defender Adrián Marín, Barcelona’s defender Julen Arellano and midfielder Ferran Sarsanedas.
Arsenal has for several years given support to Vietnamese football through a local project,
The Hoang Anh Gia Lai-Arsenal JMG Academy, based in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, is a football academy aimed at developing young players. The academy is supported by Premier League side Arsenal.
The Vietnam U19s squad, most of whose players are from the Hoang Anh Gia Lai-Arsenal JMG Academy, have recently won the heart of Vietnamese football fans for their impressive performance even though they have yet to win any major championships.
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