The arrival of Park Hang-seo has brought a new color to Vietnamese football. This man from South Korea (Korea) is like a witch. He could turn the rarely seeded Vietnam into a powerhouse team in Southeast Asia and Asia.
He achieved success after success with the Vietnam national team, and Park Hang-seo became famous throughout Vietnam. The Vietnamese government also recognized his contributions by awarding him the Labor Medal, second class. He will be given free round-trip flights between Korea and Vietnam for life.
The life of a soccer coach is hard work. Park Han-seo once felt that way. His career as a professional soccer player is a precious asset to him. However, being a player and a coach are two different things.
Born on October 1, 1957 in Sancheong-gun, he began his career as a physical coach for Lucky Gold Star (now FC Seoul) in 1989. He continued to train himself while studying. He also had the opportunity to help Guus Hiddink when he led the South Korean national team in the 2002 World Cup.
He played for Gyeongnam FC (2005-2007) and Changwon FC (2016/2017). He will join VFF Kepingkat in 2017.
Park didn’t see this as a decline in his career. He just wanted to prove he could lead the Vietnam national team to success. He wasn’t intimidated by the lack of flashiness in Vietnamese football.
Park Hang-seo has started to show Vietnam’s strength. High discipline is applied. His ability was tested when he led Vietnam to second place in the U-23 Asian Cup in 2018. He was also able to show Vietnam’s current state in the 2018 Asian Games.
Their play was superb until the semi-finals. The Vietnamese people were proud even though their favorite national team lost in the bronze medal match. Park Hang-seo continued to amaze the Vietnamese people.
Instead, he proved Vietnam could become the champion of Southeast Asian football, winning the AFF Cup in 2018 and repeating the feat by helping the Vietnamese national team win the gold medal at the 2019 SEA Games.
“I know his name because this Korean coach has become a celebrity due to his achievements in Vietnam. He is the manager of the Vietnam national football team and has achieved great results in several Asian football competitions. So I was able to conduct public interviews with Vietnamese residents and ask the interviewer questions about media efforts regarding the Vietnam national football team.”
“They always try their best to watch the national team’s matches while maintaining information about the team by accessing various cross-border information channels. For example, they also visit Vietnamese news sites more frequently than before and therefore look for information related to Vietnam especially on Facebook,” Kim Tae-sik explains in his book “Digital Periphery” (2020).
Park Hang-seo’s genius was well-known throughout Vietnam and was praised by the Vietnamese people. This was not overlooked by the Vietnamese government, which specializes in national celebrations. The culmination of this was when Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc bestowed an award on him on August 27, 2020.
Park Hang-seo was awarded the Labor Order, second class. The award is given to individuals who have made exceptional achievements in the fields of human resources, creativity and national development. The award is usually given to Vietnamese citizens.
But Park Hang-seo made a breakthrough. He became the first foreigner to receive the Worker’s Mark of Honor. He didn’t want to brag. He saw the award as a lesson and decided to work harder for the development of Vietnamese football.
The Vietnamese people did not agree that Park Hang-seo’s cooperation with the Vietnam national team ended in 2022. Park Hang-seo may leave the team, but his contributions will be remembered throughout Vietnam. Vietnam Airlines also did not want to forget its gratitude to Park Hang-seo.
They offered Park Hang-seo a lifetime supply of free round-trip business class air travel between South Korea and Vietnam, a prize believed to be less than Park’s ability to train the Vietnamese.
“This is a token of our appreciation to Coach Park, who has led our national football team with dedication, honor and victory,” Korea Bizwire reported Vietnam Airlines on January 19, 2023.
Tags: Vietnam Sepabora Korea Selatan
