The coach of Laos is worried about being overwhelmed by Vietnamese fans at home
Laos was disappointed when it lost heavily to Thailand U23 0-5 in a friendly match on December 14, despite having just won this opponent 1-0 just three days earlier. Coach Weiss admitted to being a bit embarrassed by the defeat and was concerned that this result would make the team turn away from home fans, not coming to the field to support the team in the match against Vietnam.
The German leader therefore urged Laos fans to continue to believe in the team, filling the national stadium in Vientiane on December 21. "Hopefully we don't have to play at home, but all Vietnamese fans," he said on the media channel of the Lao Football Federation (LFF) on December 15. "I urge Laos fans to come to the stadium to cheer for the team. We will fight with 100% of our strength as promised."
Weiss' concern about the audience is also related to the enthusiasm of Vietnamese fans that he once felt at the 31st SEA Games in April 2022. At that time, Weiss led Laos U23 to play in Group B of men's football in Nam Dinh and witnessed Thien Truong Stadium full of spectators, even the local audience turned to cheer for Laos U23.
According to the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, the Vietnamese community here has about 100,000 people. In addition to the air route, Vietnamese people can move easily by road to Vientiane, Laos through Cau Treo border gate in Ha Tinh.
The capacity of the Laos national stadium is about 25,000 seats. The host country spends about 3-5% of the tickets for the away team's fans, equivalent to 1000 to 1,250 tickets. However, at the AFF Cup 2018, Vietnamese fans were still present in large numbers at the Laos national stadium, cheering on coach Park Hang-seo and his team to win 3-0 in the opening match.
The Vietnamese team moved to Laos this morning on December 17 with 23 players. After settling in, this afternoon, the team went to the field to practice for the first time at the side yard next to the Laos national stadium.
The Laos team has spent two months preparing for the AFF Cup 2022, including a training trip to Thailand and two friendly matches against this country's U23 team. Coach Weiss hopes the whole team keeps the spirit and happy atmosphere for the opening match against Vietnam. "A tough game but we will fight," he said.
The Laos team attends the AFF Cup 2022 with most of the U23 players. Coach Weiss only retains some of the best veterans such as midfielders like "Messi Laos" Soukaphone Vongchiengkham (30 years old), Phithack Kongmathilath (26 years old), or striker Billy Ketkeophomphone (32 years old) - who used to play in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 (France).
Laos is much underestimated compared to Vietnam but has progressed in the last three AFF Cups. In the AFF Cup 2020, Laos played a deep defense, causing many difficulties for Vietnam and only lost 0-2.
After parting with Singapore coach Selvaraj in 2021, Laos signed a contract with coach Weiss from the beginning of 2022 to hold both the national team and U23. The 57-year-old leader used to lead the Philippines (2011-2014) and Mongolia (2017-2020).
