Head coach Park Hang-seo, who led the Vietnamese national soccer team, finished his 5-year partnership with the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Mitsubishi Electric Cup (Mitsubishi Cup) runner-up.
Vietnam lost 0-1 to Thailand in the second leg of the 2022 Mitsubishi Cup final held at Thammasat Stadium in Pathum Thani, Thailand on the 16th at 9:30 pm (Korean time). Vietnam, which was pushed back by a total of 2-3 in the first and second games, lost the top spot to rival Thailand and unfortunately stayed in the runner-up. 메이저놀이터
Head coach Park Hang-seo, who announced that he would give up the baton in Vietnam after this tournament, expressed his firm determination to win the trophy without fail by defeating his archrival Thailand. The tournament ended as runner-up, but there was no one to criticize.
Coach Park Hang-seo, who was appointed as the head coach of the Vietnamese national team in 2017, quickly reorganized the team and won the 2018 Mitsubishi Cup (then Suzuki Cup) championship trophy. Vietnam reached the top in 10 years since the 2008 tournament.
Prior to this, coach Park Hang-seo completely rewrote the history of the Vietnamese national team by setting various records. After winning runner-up at the 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Championship, coach Park led Vietnam to the semifinals at the Asian Games held in Jakarta-Palembang the same year.
In the process, coach Park discovered promising players such as Nguyen Kong Phuong and Nguyen Quang Hai, who were also selected for the adult national team and played a major role in winning the Mitsubishi Cup, before successfully advancing overseas.
Even after that, Park led the team to the quarterfinals of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and winning the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. In November 2019, the Vietnam Football Federation offered to renew the contract, and coach Park responded and continued to accompany Vietnam.
In the second qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was held in 2020, Park Hang-seo finished second in Group G and achieved the feat of advancing to the final qualifying round for the first time in history. At the beginning of the tournament, Vietnam suffered a total defeat and the dream of advancing to the World Cup finals was dashed, but in February of last year, it defeated China 3-1, followed by a 1-1 draw in Japan.
Coach Park, who achieved two consecutive victories in the Southeast Asian Games held in May last year, said goodbye to Vietnam after this tournament. At a press conference after the second leg of the final against Thailand on the 16th, coach Park said, “I’m no longer a Vietnamese coach, but I will become a passionate fan of Vietnam. I hope we can keep good memories with each other forever.”
Director Park Hang-seo is stepping down, but the history he left behind has influenced Southeast Asia beyond Vietnam. Thanks to his performance, Shin Tae-yong was appointed as the head coach for Indonesia and Kim Pan-gon as the head coach for Malaysia. Coaches Shin Tae-yong and Kim Pan-gon also wrote a history of reaching the semifinals in this tournament.
Director Park Hang-seo, who held a video conference with domestic reporters on the 17th, said, “I will not take the director’s position in Korea or Vietnam.” Even so, coach Park revealed his still love for football, saying, “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’ll do something related to soccer.”