Vietnam

Home; 2006/08

When collecting national shirts, it is always nice to have one that has some success attached to it. It is often argued that part of the lore of some classic shirts is not just the design itself, but also what the team achieved in it, as fans attach positive feelings to it. Vietnam enjoyed their first real success while this was their home shirt, so I’m sure its status has risen above the fairly uninspiring design from supplier Li Ning. That success was winning the 2008 AFF Championship, the tournament contested by nations in South East Asia. And while they have won it again in 2018, they say you never forget your first.

In a slightly unusual competition format, the 2008 group stages were due to be hosted in Myanmar before the knock-out semi finals and final being played on a home-and-away two leg basis. However, due to worries over safety in Myanmar at the time, the groups instead were jointly hosted by Indonesia and Thailand. Vietnam finished second in a group ahead of Malaysia and Laos, with Thailand topping that group. Weirdly, Vietnam enjoyed better success away from home in the knock out stages. They came through the semi finals with a 1-0 aggregate win over Indonesia, thanks to a 0-1 win away. In the final against Thailand, Vietnam first won 1-2 in Bangkok before drawing 1-1 at home to famously clinch the title, leading to chaotic scenes in Hanoi as thousands of fans celebrated the win.

Vietnam also wore this shirt a year earlier at the 2007 Asian Cup, which was the first time they had qualified for that competition as a unified nation. Though this was not down to on-field performance, but by virtue of being one of the four hosts (alongside Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand). That said, the Golden Dragon did perform admirably at the finals, qualifying out of their group ahead of UAE and Qatar in front of sell-out crowds in Hanoi, before being beaten by Iraq in the quarter finals in Bangkok.

And as a very hard working shirt, it was also worn in the 2006 Asian game by both the men’s and women’s teams. Unfortunately, neither of the teams made it out of their groups though the men did register a win over Bangladesh.