Vietnam lived up to the tag of defending champions
There were many who thought Henrique Calisto and his Vietnam side were lucky to beat Singapore in the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final in 2008, and there were even more who believed the Vietnamese would succumb to regional powerhouses Thailand in the final that year.
But Vietnam snagged their first-ever Asean title two years ago and, last night, lived up to the tag of defending champions.
A 7-1 slaughter of Myanmar at Hanoi\'s My Dinh Stadium was a stunning statement of intent in the start of Vietnam\'s title defence.
On a night of scintillating pass-and-move football, Nguyen Vu Phong shone the brightest, scoring three of Vietnam\'s seven goals, his hat-trick sending the Group B hosts to the top of the table and him to the top of the goal-scorer\'s charts.
Nguyen Anh Duc opened Vietnamese accounts in the 13th minute, and while A K Moe\'s equaliser three minutes later looked to have opened the game, Vietnam quickly quashed any Myanmar hopes of an opening-day upset.
Skipper Nguyen Minh Phoung scored with a free kick in the 30th minute to restore the lead, and a five-goal blitz in the second half saw Vietnam stamp their authority in a competition that has seen regional rivals Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia stutter.
Singapore drew 1-1 with the Philippines, Thailand were held to a 2-2 draw by Laos on Wednesday, while Malaysia were thumped 5-1 by Group A hosts Indonesia.
Nguyen Anh Duc scored the first goal for Vietnam in the 13th minute
Vietnamese fans were thrilled by their team\'s performance