Portuguese man Calisto to become Vietnam's national soccer team coach

HANOI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Henrique Calisto from Portugal, who is coaching a Vietnamese club, will become head coach of the national soccer squad, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Tuesday.

Under a two-year contract signed here Monday between Calisto and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the man, 53, will start his work as head coach of the national soccer team on April 15.

Although the VFF did not reveal details on the contract, VFF vice chairman Le Hung Dung said Calisto will receive the same salary as his predecessors. His Australian predecessor, Alfred Riedl, who resigned last December after the team's failure at the 24th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand, received about 12,000 U.S. dollars per month during his three years in Vietnam.

A donor will take charge of paying salary for Calisto, who was Vietnam's national soccer team coach in 2003, while the VFF will cover other expenses, including rent for an apartment and car, Dung said.

As the coach of the national team, Calisto's mission is to bring the team to the final match of the Southeast Asian Federation Football Championship, to be co-hosted by Thailand and Indonesia later this year, and help it get high results at the 25th SEA Games in Laos and the Asian Cup's qualifying round in 2009.