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, will step down from the baton following 5 years. On October 17th, coach Park and the Vietnam Football Association officially announced that they had agreed not to extend the contract that 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 a highly responsible and professional leader. Even though the contract is over, I will continue to maintain a close relationship with Director Park.”
Coach Park also said, “The last five years with the Vietnam national football team were definitely unforgettable memories in my football life. He served as the manager of the A national team and the U-23 (under 23) national team, concentrating on each competition and running forward. He said, “There were times when the results were good and there were bad times, but thanks to the endless support and support from the players, the association, and the Vietnamese people, he was able to fulfill his duties.”
“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 last stage. After becoming the head coach of the Vietnam national team in October 2017, coach Park achieved outstanding results in each tournament, creating a craze for ‘Park Hang-seo magic’. In the 2018 Suzuki Cup (now Mitsubishi Cup), Vietnam took the top spot for the first time in 10 years, and in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, they reached the quarterfinals for the first time in 12 years. In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Vietnam advanced to the Asian final for the first time.
He also achieved remarkable achievements as the coach of the U-23 national team. He won his first runner-up at the AFC U-23 Championship in 2018 and reached his first semifinal at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games that same year. Also, in the Southeast Asian Games, they won the championship in 2021 following 2019, achieving the feat of losing two consecutive titles.
Since entering the top 100 in the FIFA rankings on November 19, 2018 under the guidance of Park, Vietnam has maintained the top 100 ranking with 96th so far. Vietnam is the only Southeast Asian country to have been in the top 100 for such a long time.
Coach Park conceded 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 soccer team led by Park achieved outstanding results, waving the Vietnamese flag and falling into a festive mood, and revered Park as a national hero. Coach Park, who told the media, “Now is the time to say goodbye,” plans to come back home following the Mitsubishi tournament to rest and plan a new football life.
Park, who was born in Sancheong, Gyeongnam in 1959, played soccer at Saengcho Elementary School and Saengcho Middle School, but no one paid any attention to him. He hoped to enter Seoul Baejae High School, but was rejected, and following a year of retake, he entered Gyeongsingo. He was also a sophomore at Hanyang University, and in 1978 he became the captain of the youth national team and won the Asian Youth Soccer Championship. In 1984, he joined as a founding member of the Lucky Venus Bulls team, leading the team to a league championship the following year, and was named Best Eleven the following year. After ending his career as a player at the end of the 1988 season, he worked as a trainer and coach before joining the national team as a trainer for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. At the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he served as head coach Guus Hiddink and was awarded the Order of Sports Merit for making a legend in the semifinals.
Weekly Donga No. 1360
