Coach Kim Sang Sik and Dinh Bac were honored at the Victory Cup.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Coach Kim Sang Sik, striker Dinh Bac, and the Vietnam U23 team received many meaningful awards at the 2025 Victory Cup Gala held in Hanoi on the evening of January 29th.

Among the team and individual awards, football was honored to have 4 categories voted on: Team of the Year (Vietnam U22 team winning gold at SEA Games 33); Outstanding Foreign Expert of the Year (Coach Kim Sang Sik); Most Impressive Sports Image/Moment of the Year (Dinh Bac putting on a pith helmet for Coach Kim Sang Sik after the SEA Games 33 final); Young Athlete of the Year (Nguyen Dinh Bac, Vietnam U22/23 team).

Dinh Bac and the Vietnam U23 team were honored at the 2026 Victory Cup Gala (Photo: HT).

With their impressive gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games, the Vietnam U22 team was voted "Team of the Year". In addition, Coach Kim Sang Sik was honored in the "Outstanding Foreign Expert" category after leading the Vietnamese football teams to victory in three consecutive tournaments in 2025: the AFF Cup, the U23 Southeast Asian Championship, and the 33rd SEA Games.

Forward Nguyen Dinh Bac (21 years old), a standout player in the U23 Southeast Asian Championship and SEA Games 33 gold medal-winning team, has been awarded the title of Young Athlete of the Year. The player, currently playing for Hanoi Police FC, also contributed to the victory of the U22 Vietnam team, which outstandingly won the Team of the Year award.

The moment when Nguyen Dinh Bac put a pith helmet on coach Kim Sang Sik during the breathtaking victory celebration against U22 Thailand in the SEA Games 33 final has been selected as the Image/Moment of the Year. This moment is from the clip "Dinh Bac's Affectionate Relationship with Coach Kim Sang Sik" produced by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan presents the "Outstanding Foreign Expert of the Year" award to Coach Kim Sang Sik (Photo: HT).

Coach Kim Sang Sik shared: "All the coaches are qualified and honored to receive this title. I am just representing them. I would like to thank everyone, especially Coach Park Hang Seo, who has always encouraged me to do my job well. I regret that the finals were not played at home, but I am very happy that the Vietnamese people poured into the streets to celebrate the victory."

The Female Athlete of the Year award went to shooter Trinh Thu Vinh, who won 1 Asian Championship gold medal, 4 SEA Games gold medals, and broke 3 records. The Male Athlete of the Year award went to Ha Minh Thanh (shooting), with 2 Asian Shooting Cup gold medals and 2 SEA Games gold medals (setting 1 record).

In other categories, the Lifetime Achievement Award went to former athlete and coach Cung Binh Di (shooting); Coach of the Year: Coach Duong Hoang Long (karate); Team of the Year: the mixed 4x400m relay team. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy (volleyball) won the Most Popular Athlete award for the second consecutive year.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-kim-sang-sik-dinh-bac-duoc-vinh-danh-o-cup-chien-thang-20260130063134136.htm