It was a great three weeks of football that fired passions, created heroes and underlined the importance to the fans of the regional tournament.
Nowhere was the atmosphere more charged than at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi when the skilful Le Cong Vinh headed home the overtime goal that gave Vietnam their first title in international football.
Vietnam's 3-2 aggregate win over three-time champions Thailand sent the nation wild with delight and topped off what had been a very good year or so for football in Vietnam.
Vietnam were the only Asean team to make the last eight of the 2007 Asian Cup and a year later, the under-22 team lifted the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia.
The Vietnamese are consumed by the beautiful game and the national team's AFF Suzuki Cup triumph put Le Cong Vinh and goalkeeper Duong Hong Son - voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player – on the same pedestal as hero-worshipped players from the English Premier League and Spain's La Liga.
International success was a long time coming. In 1998 Vietnam hosted the competition and were favourites to win. They reached the final only to lose 1-0 to unfancied Singapore. That was as good as it got until just before 9pm on December 28, 2008.
AFF Suzuki Cup best Team 2010
AFF Suzuki Cup 2009 Champion
AFF Suzuki Cup Top Players
AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 Logo
AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 Opening Ceremony
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