Victory at the Jaws of Defeat

I had my first taste yesterday of the passion the Vietnamese have for their soccer.

It was the Asian Cup match between Vietnam and Japan. Japan was the favourite. Vietnam had to try for a win and hope that the results between Qatar and UAE would work in its favour. If Qatar loses or draw, Vietnam would go to the quarterfinals, an unprecedented event in its soccer history.

Was not too keen to go because still feeling the heat and humidity but hard to say "no" as my friend had gone out of the way to get a ticket for me. Reluctantly, I agreed.

Of course, I had to first survive the journey on motorcycle to the stadium, which is around 15 km outside of Ha Noi in the suburbs of My Dinh. A journey that took us close to 40 minutes.

Everyone was trying to get to the stadium. An amazing thing about motorcyclists in Ha Noi is the belief that if there is a gap between the cars or buses, he or she should be able to squeeze through. Just. My friend is one of those chaps who believe strongly in this!

Many a times I thought I was about to be squashed between his bike and a bus or a car.

Scary.

I also realised that it was a bad idea to talk while sitting in a bike on a dusty Ha Noi road.

You never know what you are going to get coming into your mouth, which is made worse in my case given the size of my mouth!

Well. Lesson learned and hopefully remembered by yours truly.

The stadium was as expected packed. Outside was a beehive of activity. Hawkers selling their fare as well as touts trying to sell their tickets at exhorbitant prices. There were many flags and hats with the Vietnamese flag on sale. Sales were brisk.

The game began. Before I could count to 100, Vietnam decided to have a fairy-tale beginning by scoring first. There was delirium in the stadium as an estimated 40,000 voices rose in unison. It was loud. Real loud.

Of course, the Japanese decided that it was time to ramp up the pressure.

Notwithstanding the Japanese clear superiority, the crowd was happy and constantly cheering their team on with cries of "Vietnam, do your best" interspersed with chants and songs. It was a fun atmosphere.

In the second half, it was clear that Vietnam was fighting a futile cause against Japan. The Japanese was simply too strong but the slightly deflated mood in the stadium changed as the game went on when news started to filter in over the Qatar and UAE game. Soon cries of "draw, draw" began, soon echoed by the masses in the stadium.

When the final whistle blew, it was 1-4 to Japan but the crowd was jumping up and down as they believed that Qatar drew with UAE. We walked out a bit earlier hoping to beat the crowd. As we left, there was an announcement.

UAE beat Qatar 2-1!

As you can imagine, it was pandemonium all around.

Our journey back to my place was like a nightmare as you can imagine. Thousands of bikes on the road with many delirious by the victory at the jaws of defeat. Some young chaps thought it was good to race on the roads. Not too smart in my opinion given the number of bikes on the roads. Not sure whether there were any accidents. Hope not though.

I breathed a sigh of relief upon reaching home.

It was an experience of a life-time. Not sure whether I would want to go back to another game on a bike!

Welcome to the world of Vietnamese soccer!