HANOI — The "Footballoos" have landed.
The Australians, who arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday evening ahead of their quarterfinal clash with Japan on Saturday, may be known around the world as the Socceroos but someone at the English-language daily Viet Nam News is obviously not a fan of the nickname.
Instead of referring to Australia simply as the Australians or Aussies, the newspaper has taken the bizarre decision to replace "soccer" with "football" and come up with the brilliant "Footballoos" when writing about Harry Kewell and Co.
A lot of people — normally the British — take exception to people using the word "soccer" instead "football," believing "soccer" is an Americanism that should not be tolerated. Whoever is calling the editorial shots at Viet Nam News obviously feels the same.
The funny thing is the Australian Soccer Association changed its name a couple of years ago to the Football Federation of Australia, so the Socceroos moniker could soon be a thing of the past.
They may soon have to come up with a new nickname, but I doubt the Footballoos will stick.
How about the Sheilaroos?
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Tim Cahill, the scourge of Japan at last year's World Cup finals in Germany, was in fine fettle in the news conference Wednesday as he talked candidly about his hopes of a repeat performance against Japan in Saturday's quarterfinal.
But he got in a bit of dig on the assembled hacks when asked whether the Aussies were surprised by the strength of the other teams in their Asian Cup group.
"This is what frustrates the players a lot because people say 'surprised' but we are not surprised. We knew from the start that the Asian nations have raw talent and great teams and I think it is you guys that are uneducated about the Asian teams and how well they play," said Everton's attacking midfielder.
"For us it was very difficult to play against those teams (in the first round, Iraq, Oman, Thailand) and they did really well. People say we didn't show them a lot of respect but we did and it showed in our results."
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The Australians were put through their paces in their first training session on Wednesday evening — with the full complement of stars accompanied on their arrival at My Dinh Stadium's training pitch by a lights-flashing, sirens-blaring police escort.
It was grand, albeit slightly unnecessary, entrance for the Sheilaroos' star-studded squad as the number of fans waiting to greet them corresponded with the number of appearances Kewell made for Liverpool last season.
It appeared status doesn't count for much in the Aussie camp during training, with Liverpool's Champions League winner Kewell copping the brunt of the abuse dished out by the Aussies during a high-tempo workout taken very seriously indeed.
In one ferocious exchange, after the Liverpool winger had claimed he didn't touch the ball before it went out for a throw-in, Deportivo Alaves striker John Aloisi screamed, "You're a f****** idiot, Kewell."
Hanoi nightlife update: The Asian Cup finals continues to drive the Japan press corps' finest to the bars and clubs of Vietnam to unwind after a hard day's night trying to find something remotely quotable to come out of the mouth of Japan coach Ivica Osim.
The Hanoi fun police had seemingly put the kibosh on late-night revelry with a recent crackdown on closing times. But an oasis among the desert has been found — and it was under the journalists' noses the entire time.
The Sheraton hotel — where the players are staying and frequent press conferences are held — has a club with the classy name "Nutz" operating at the base of the main building and it is the destination for Hanoi's elite.
Unfortunately for Nutz, the class of customer has dropped a notch since certain journalists started frequenting the joint. Profits, though, are surely up.
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Standards have dropped inside the hotel as well since the Aussie team arrived. Guests were greeted Wednesday morning by the sight of a group of sweaty and shirtless players striding through the lobby after returning from a morning workout — although a few of the Japanese female fans milling around didn't appear to be that bothered.