Vietnam team returns with Park Hang Seo's 'branded' playing style

This is something that can easily happen to a coach who comes from a central defender background like Mr. Kim Sang Sik. Playing in a defensive position will greatly affect the playing style when leading a team. Mr. Kim Sang Sik himself has achieved many achievements in his playing and coaching career, so he has more reason to be loyal to his strengths.

According to Korean media, Mr. Kim Sang Sik has 378 matches in the K-League, 12 years wearing the Korean national team jersey, playing 59 matches. Mr. Kim Sang Sik has leadership qualities as a player, has won the K-League 5 times, won the National Cup and Korean Super Cup once, and was runner-up in the AFC Champions League once. As a coach, Mr. Kim Sang Sik helped Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Club win the 2021 K-League, the 2022 Korean FA Cup, and reach the semi-finals of the 2022 AFC Champions League.

This year, coach Kim Sang Sik turns 48. His biggest limitation may be his experience working with the National Team. The coach, born in 1976, has never led a national team. In addition, coach Kim Sang Sik has quite modest coaching experience, having only worked domestically, and only experienced in the domestic environment.

After retiring, coach Kim Sang Sik only worked for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. The powerful Korean football club had immediate achievements with Mr. Kim Sang Sik as mentioned. However, in 2023, this coach only stayed at the Club for 10 matches and lost his job due to not achieving good results.

VFF has many advantages when approaching the coach who is free. More importantly, after the reign of coach Philippe Troussier, the Vietnam team has many big lessons and needs to change. The playing style that the French coach applied to Vietnamese football was not suitable and the final result was failure.

The Vietnamese team with its limited resources of talented players at the moment does not allow for a controlling style of play like Mr. Troussier has built. The reality that best suits Vietnamese football is the way coach Park Hang Seo has succeeded. The defensive counter-attacking style that coach Park Hang Seo has applied to the team during his 5-year tenure is still something that needs to be recreated through the perspective of many professionals.

Coach Kim Sang Sik has the conditions to bring back the coaching style that made coach Park Hang Seo successful for Vietnamese football. When football is in decline, the great advantage of the new national team coach is to be "given the green light" to implement the coach's strong football philosophy. The stature of football compared to the current continent, the Vietnamese team will not be criticized if the final result is victory.

Coach Kim Sang Sik will not have to suffer any criticism after what Vietnamese football has gone through under coach Troussier. The Korean coach will be given plenty of time to re-evaluate and choose the right people for the new situation. When ball control is no longer a concern for the players, they can develop their positive abilities as they did under coach Park Hang Seo.

The Vietnamese team will theoretically be renewed with a new coach, but the "playbook" may not be much different from the old coach. At that time, the players will not take much time to "learn the lesson". Compared to the controlling and imposing football style that requires a generation of talented players with good thinking and physical strength, the proactive defensive and attacking style is clearly the most suitable approach for Vietnamese players.

Coach Kim Sang Sik is also trusted by VFF because of his good relationship with coach Park Hang Seo. The person who made success with Vietnamese football can give good advice to his former student. Coach Park Hang Seo and coach Kim Sang Sik have a relationship of compatriots and the same representative company. Therefore, coach Park Hang Seo can help coach Kim Sang Sik quickly adapt to work in the new environment./.