December 12, 2004

It seem Vietnam had threw in the towel even before completing their final game against Laos with  Vietnam coach Edson Tavares becoming the first coaching casualty of the Tiger Cup when he resigned today following Vietnam’s 3-0 defeat to Indonesia in Group A.

Vietnam Football Federation spokesman, Nguyen Lan Trung, disclosed that the Brazilian had tendered his resignation soon after the end of the 3-0 defeat to Indonesia, a result which virtually ends the hosts’ chances of qualifying for the last four.

Nguyen Lan Trung said at 11 pm last night, Mr Tavares passed a letter to senior VFF officials offering his resignation & this offer was accepted. The reason for the head coach to leave was the loss to Indonesia as it was a bad loss.

Officially his contract ends at the end of March 2005 but speculation held that he would quit should Vietnam fail to make the semi-finals of the tournament.

Coaching responsibilities for the remainder of the Tiger Cup will pass Nguyen Khanh Van, an assistant to Tavares. The search for a new coach for Vietnam will start in the new year.