The man of miracles

HISTORICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

When coach Park Hang-seo arrived in Vietnam at the end of 2017, his abilities were doubted due to his unremarkable personal record, having only coached a few clubs in South Korea. He was signed by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) at a time when Vietnamese football was in freefall, especially after the U23 team's heavy defeat at the 2017 SEA Games. However, very quickly afterwards, the coach born in 1957 made his first mark by leading the U23 Vietnam team to defeat U23 Thailand on Thai soil in the M-150 friendly tournament. He revived two generations of Vietnam's U.19 teams (the 2014 and 2016 generations), and helped the Vietnam U.23 team achieve a miraculous feat by finishing as runners-up in the 2018 AFC U.23 Championship in Changzhou (China). Since then, Vietnamese football has awakened and risen to prominence with a series of achievements such as winning the 2018 AFF Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 Asian Cup, the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup, and qualifying for the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers… along with two gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games.

Coach Park Hang-seo has left a profound mark on Vietnamese football.

Some argue that Coach Park was fortunate to have two consecutive generations of the most talented players in Vietnamese football history. But that's only a necessary condition, because players like Cong Phuong, Tuan Anh, Quang Hai, Van Hau, Tien Linh, Ngoc Hai, Hung Dung… all experienced failure. The sufficient condition is that Coach Park created a suitable, strong, and cohesive development environment thanks to his charismatic personality. His professional talent, ability to instill willpower and ignite desire in players, along with his bold personnel decisions, have made a difference, elevating the "Golden Generation 3.0" of Vietnamese football.

HOT-TEMPERED AND GENTLE

Language assistant Le Huy Khoa is perhaps the Vietnamese person who understands Coach Park Hang-seo best. Mr. Khoa vividly remembers his initial impression of Coach Park – a cheerful, healthy, enthusiastic, and energetic man. Very happy and humorous in real life, but when he gets down to work, Coach Park becomes a completely different person.

Mr. Khoa shared: "Coach Park Hang-seo is a man of action. In him, we see two contrasting images: extremely passionate but adaptable to the circumstances, and very adept at adjusting his personality to become 'softer'. He is also incredibly affectionate and knows how to motivate the players. Korean football legend Park Ji-sung once shared that he had two very successful mentors, Alex Ferguson and Guus Hiddink, but he couldn't follow in their footsteps because he felt he lacked the coaching style. Coach Park is very different; he has a captivating strength, similar to the demeanor of Coach Guus Hiddink, and he skillfully applies many of the experiences he learned from his time as Hiddink's assistant coach with the Korean national team at the 2002 World Cup. Coach Park Hang-seo treats everyone with extreme tact and sincerity. He has a humorous and witty way of speaking, which the players really like. Usually, players are afraid of their coaches, but in football, it's not simply a matter of applying a rigid philosophy." "The 'stick and carrot' approach is effective. It's the way Coach Park ignited passion in each member that helped the team always play with the utmost intensity on the field. In this respect, Coach Park is a truly outstanding student of Coach Guus Hiddink."

Touching image

Recently, during an interview with Mr. Park, who had just returned to South Korea from Vietnam, KBS News re-aired a video clip of midfielder Duc Huy filming his coach with a very funny Hello Kitty effect. Many other images, such as Mr. Park sleeping soundly on his student's lap at the airport, or personally massaging the players, have made a strong impression on Vietnamese and Korean fans.

THE ART OF LISTENING

In the early days under Coach Park, the Vietnamese national team had quite a few players from HAGL. However, at the 2018 AFF Cup, players like Xuan Truong, Cong Phuong, and Van Toan gradually gave way to those more suited to a disciplined counter-attacking style of play after the first few group stage matches. In the first leg of the final at the packed Bukit Jalil Stadium with nearly 100,000 Malaysian fans, Coach Park surprisingly fielded the duo of Duc Huy and Huy Hung for the first time in the starting lineup, catching the opponent off guard. These two scored to secure a 2-2 draw. In the second leg, striker Anh Duc – seemingly past his prime under previous coaches – shone with a volley that brought a 1-0 victory at My Dinh Stadium, helping Vietnam win the Southeast Asian title for the second time (the first was achieved by Coach Calisto in 2008).

Coach Park Hang-seo's coaching staff includes both Vietnamese and Korean assistants, but he doesn't favor his compatriots and is always ready to listen to everyone. He engages in dialogue with his colleagues, listening to the opinions of each assistant before making a final decision. At the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, the coaching staff of the Vietnam U22 team was clearly divided into two factions: one choosing goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung and the other Nguyen Van Toan. The majority leaned towards Bui Tien Dung – a hero at the 2018 U23 Asian Championship – but goalkeeper coach Nguyen The Anh saw it differently. Van Toan, at that time, was a rising star but full of potential, playing regularly for Hai Phong FC, possessing tenacity and excellent aerial ball skills; while Bui Tien Dung played less for his club. After intense debate, Coach Park decided to give both a chance to compete. Bui Tien Dung started the first match against U22 Brunei and the third against U22 Indonesia, while Van Toan started the second against U22 Laos and the fourth against U22 Singapore. After evaluating their performance, Coach Park gave Van Toan the starting goalkeeper position in the 3-0 victory against Indonesia in the final. (to be continued)

THE SEVERE STRESS OF TEACHER PARK

Mr. Le Huy Khoa shared that Coach Park's high sense of responsibility made him unsuitable for handling pressure. In an exclusive interview with Thanh Nien Newspaper after winning the SEA Games 30 gold medal in 2021 in Vietnam, Coach Park shared that he was under severe stress and had many sleepless nights. The most stressful period for Coach Park was the series of 7 consecutive losses in the third round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, making him feel like a ticking time bomb. But ultimately, the convincing 3-1 victory against the Chinese team on the first day of the Lunar New Year (2022) relieved all the pressure, and the Vietnamese team then concluded their historic campaign with a 1-1 draw against Japan.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-park-hang-seo-nguoi-dan-ong-cua-nhung-ky-tich-185231215021833652.htm