Manager Park Hang-seo is stepping down from the Vietnam national football team. [뉴시스]
Manager Park Hang-seo, who changed the history of Vietnamese football, is stepping down after 5 years. On October 17th, Coets Park and the Vietnam Football Association officially announced that they have agreed not to extend the contract which expires on January 31 next year. The Vietnam Football Association said, “We would like to thank coach Park Hang-seo for his dedication to Vietnamese football over the past five years. Director Park was an extremely responsible and professional leader. Although the contract is over, I will continue to maintain a close relationship with the Park Director.”
Coach Park also said, “The past five years with the Vietnam national football team were definitely unforgettable memories in my football life. As the coach of the A team and the U-23 (under 23) national team, he focused on each tournament and ran looking only forward. There were times when the results were good and there were bad times, but thanks to the endless support and support of the players, the society, and the Vietnamese people, I was able to do my part,” he said.
“Now is the time to say goodbye”
As a result, the 2022 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship (Mitsubishi Cup), which starts on December 20, is expected to be Park’s final stage. After becoming the head coach of the Vietnam national team in October 2017, coach Park achieved excellent results in every tournament, creating a craze for ‘Park Hang-seo magic’. In the 2018 Suzuki Cup (now the Mitsubishi Cup), Vietnam took the top spot for the first time in 10 years, and in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, they reached the quarter-finals for the first time in 12 years. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Vietnam advanced to the Asian final for the first time.
He also achieved remarkable achievements as coach of the national under-23 team. In 2018, they won their first second place in the AFC U-23 Championship, and in the same year, they reached the first semi-final of the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. Also, at the South East Asian Games, they won the championship in 2021 following 2019, achieving the feat of losing two titles in a row.
Since reaching the top 100 in the FIFA rankings on November 19, 2018 under Park’s leadership, Vietnam has maintained the top 100 ranking with 96th so far. Vietnam is the only country in Southeast Asia that has been in the top 100 for such a long time.
Coach Park admitted business class to injured players and won the hearts of the Vietnamese people as well as the players with his warm leadership by directly massaging the players’ feet. The Vietnamese people flocked to the streets every time the national football team led by Park achieved excellent results, waving the Vietnamese flag and falling into the Christmas mood, and respecting Park as a national hero. Coach Park, who told the media, “Now is the time to say goodbye,” plans to come back home after the Mitsubishi tournament to rest and plan a new football life.
Park, born in Sancheong, Gyeongnam in 1959, played football at Saengcho Elementary School and Saengcho Middle School, but no one paid him any attention. He hoped to enter Seoul Baejae High School, but was rejected, and after recovering a year, he went to Gyeongsingo. Also, in 1978, when he was a sophomore at Hanyang University, he became the captain of the national youth team and played a leading role in winning the Asian Youth Football Championship. In 1984, he joined as one of the founders of the Lucky Goldstar bullpen, leading the team to win the league the following year and was selected in the Best Eleven. After ending his playing career at the end of the 1988 season, he worked as a trainer and coach before joining the national team as coach for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. At the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he served as Guus Hiddink’s head coach and was awarded the Sports Order of Merit for making a legend in the semi-finals.
Donga Weekly No. 1360
