Vietnam National Team Coaching Chair: Is it a story of 'old wine in new bottles'?

(Baonghean.vn)- The Vietnam national football team has turned a new page with the appearance of coach Park Hang Seo as captain. The chair has changed hands but I'm afraid everything will remain the same.

VFF's calculation

Coach Park Hang Seo at the contract signing ceremony with VFF. Photo: Internet

With an impressive resume (having worked as an assistant to coach Guus Hiddink at the 2002 World Cup), the new captain of the Vietnam national team received a lot of expectations from fans. However, there were also many doubts about coach Park Hang Seo.

There is no need to discuss the real professional level of the strategist from Korea, this will take time to verify. But the independence factor, the full authority to decide on professional issues in the Vietnam National Team of Coach Park Hang Seo, is still a big question mark.

Everyone knows that the difficult problem in Vietnamese football belongs to the upper echelons, not the level of the head coach or the quality of the players. The failure of coach Nguyen Huu Thang or before that, coach Miura, Falko Goetz... does not stop at the tactical issue, but is largely due to the thinking and working style of the VFF. The scandal between the leaders of the Vietnam Football Federation nearly a month ago is a clear proof of the shortcomings that have existed in the VFF over the past years.

Experts and football fans in the country were quite surprised when the name Park Han Seo was announced for the position of head coach of the Vietnam national team. The question was raised, "Why did the VFF rush to 'choose' coach Park Han Seo?". The way the leaders of the VFF acted showed the lack of reasonableness and objectivity needed in choosing a head coach for the national team. In a situation where there was no urgency, the VFF was completely comfortable waiting for the profiles of other candidates. After that, they conducted research, negotiated with the candidates and then made the final decision.

On the other hand, VFF appointed Park Han Seo within just 1 week of contact. The criteria for selecting a coach for the Vietnam National Team is public, transparent and in accordance with the set criteria, just a formality. VFF's decision to choose Coach Park Han Seo is still based on old thinking and methods. That's why even the Korean strategist was surprised about his "selection". Mr. Park Han Seo shared: "Currently, I don't have much information about the Vietnam National Team and football in this country because everything happened so quickly."

A hasty decision, without any criticism from VFF experts, of course lacks transparency and objectivity. This shows the intention of the leaders of the Vietnam Football Federation, which is to control Coach Park Hang Seo to work under their direction. And certainly, Coach Park Hang Seo's position in the Vietnam National Team is not much different from that of his predecessors.

Mr. Duc annexed Vietnam National Team

Although General Secretary Le Hoai Anh affirmed: "VFF will ensure the best possible professional conditions for Coach Park Hang Seo to work. Regarding professional issues, Coach Park Hang Seo has full authority to decide, including choosing assistants. We only advise him for his reference in making decisions." It sounds easy to say, but the reality is not simple. Wasn't Coach Nguyen Huu Thang, Miura, Falko Goetz... all promised the same thing in their early days of taking office?!

Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc is continuing his ambition to "manipulate the Vietnam National Team". Photo: Internet

Don’t forget, in the entourage that went to Korea to negotiate with Coach Park Hang Seo, there was the appearance of VFF Vice President Doan Nguyen Duc - who announced his resignation and no longer interfered in the affairs of the Federation. The fact that Mr. Duc “did not keep his word” exposed the ambition of “manipulating the Vietnam National Team” of the Chairman of HAGL Group. This is more worrying than happy for football fans in the country.

From now on, the professional issues in the Vietnam national football team will hardly escape the manipulation of Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc. Especially, Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc recently brought coach Chung Hae Seong to be the technical director of the mountain town team. The relationship between coach Park Hang Seo and Chung Hae Seong is quite close (teammates when they were players and assistants of coach Guus Hiddink). Surely, there is no objective reason for both coach Park Hang Seo and Chung Hae Seong to come to Vietnam to practice at the same time.

Coach Chung Hae Seong revealed: “When I come to Vietnam, I will first contact Coach Park Hang Seo. He and I will have good coordination to bring Vietnamese football up”. The sharing of the new HAGL Technical Director has drawn an almost clear vision, the Vietnam National Team will have a close relationship with HAGL. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Vietnam National Team will soon be filled with HAGL troops. The problem of “your troops, my troops” in the Vietnam National Team has not been completely solved, and is even more difficult.

In short, the appearance of coach Park Han Seo is simply a familiar story of “new bottle, old wine”./.

Thanh Hung