Akhil Rawat
AIFF Media Team

NAM ĐỊNH, VIETNAM: Nam Định is a quaint town in northern Vietnam. With a population of just over 236,000, it doesn't have an airport of its own, so after landing in the capital Hanoi, the Indian senior men's team undertook a 100-kilometre bus journey through the rural landscapes of the Red River Delta to reach their team hotel in the wee hours of Monday morning.

On October 12, the Blue Tigers will play a friendly match against Vietnam in Nam Định, a city steeped in history and culture, home to stunning religious architecture, with several churches, cathedrals and temples. It's known for its lush green landscapes and flavourful Vietnamese cuisine. But none of that interests head coach Manolo Márquez on his first trip to the south-east Asian nation. His focus, as is the boys', solely on the battle of October 12th.

"I like the place. However, when you play these kinds of games, you are not on holiday, you don't have too much time. We're busy preparing the sessions, checking how the opponent is, and especially how our team is at this moment. All we are here for is to try and win on 12th," said the Spaniard.

Make no mistake but the city of Nam Đinh is as crazy for football as Márquez himself. The city is home to Thep Xanh Nam Đinh FC, the reigning champions of the  V.League 1 in the 2023-24 season. The small town club broke a six-year hegemony of title-winning clubs from capital Hanoi - Hanoi FC, The Cong-Viettel FC and Cong An Hanoi FC - in front of their passionate home fans at the Thiên Trường Stadium. The venue recorded the highest average attendance in the league last season at over 13,000 fans per game.

The locals have equal loyalty, if not more, for the Vietnam national team too. The hosts beat Syria 1-0 and Palestine 2-0 in friendly matches last year at the  same stadium, backed by their ardent fans. Thiên Trường literally stands for Heaven's Place Stadium, however, for visiting teams, it has been something totally opposite in recent times.

Nevertheless, India do have fond memories in Vietnam to hark back to. In 2002, they came from two goals down to beat the hosts 3-2 to be crowned champions of the LG Cup, an U23 tournament held in Hồ Chí Minh City. Bhaichung Bhutia (2) and Abhishek Yadav scored the goals for the victorious Indian team, which also included the current assistant coach Mahesh Gawali.

But the past is in the past. A lot of water has flown from the Red River Delta to the Gulf of Tonkin since then. It is now the Manolo Márquez era for the senior team, who are looking for their first victory of the year. The Blue Tigers held their first training session in Vietnam on Monday evening at the Nam Đinh Sports Palace Ground, and will have four more full sessions before taking on the hosts on Saturday.