Coach Park Hang Seo: 'This SEA Games gold medal means a lot to me'

Coach Park entered the press conference room amidst joy and applause from the media. The Korean coach emotionally shared: “This SEA Games is a tournament that means a lot to me. 3 years ago, after 60 years of waiting, U23 Vietnam and I won the first SEA Games gold medal. This year, U23 Vietnam is the host. I know the Vietnamese people have high expectations for this gold medal. The players always try their best. As the head coach of U23 Vietnam, I know I have to be responsible for this mission. Sometimes I get stressed with this goal. I would like to thank the Vietnamese people, the Party and relevant agencies. Finally, I would like to thank the players who fought with all their might and the coaching staff who worked hard to achieve this success.”

Coach Park Hang Seo could not hide his happiness when he helped U23 Vietnam defeat U23 Thailand.

After the 31st SEA Games, Coach Park Hang Seo will stop leading the U23 team. The Korean coach will focus all his energy on the national team. Mr. Park will continue with his goals with the national team in just a few days.

“As the head coach of the U23 team, this is my last tournament. After this tournament, I will no longer be in charge of the U23 team. However, I still have duties with the national team. According to the plan, we will gather on May 25. On May 28, we will go to Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for the match against Afghanistan on June 1. At the end of this year, I still have duties with the national team to participate in the AFF Cup 2022. In the tournament last year, we failed. Therefore, the upcoming tournament is of great significance to me and my students. We will try our best to achieve the best results,” said Mr. Park.

In the U23 Asian finals, U23 Vietnam will meet U23 Thailand again. When asked about the prediction of the performance of the two teams when they meet again, Mr. Park was straightforward. “I think I am not the right person to answer this question. As you know, U23 Vietnam has a new coach, Mr. Gong. He is also a very good coach. Each coach has different tactics, operations, and management. It is also impossible to know how we will compete in the future. Young Vietnamese players have few opportunities to compete. Such tournaments will help U23 Vietnam mature. However, I believe that U23 Vietnam will have a good tournament at the U23 Asian finals in Uzbekistan.”

The Korean coach added: “As I said, each coach has a different philosophy. From the current perspective, I cannot give advice to Mr. Gong Oh Kyun on choosing players. But from a certain perspective, I will help him understand more about Vietnamese culture and players. As for the pressure, I hope that fans and the media will reduce it, helping Mr. Gong to quickly integrate and achieve success with Vietnamese football.”

Coach Park Hang Seo also believes that having rival matches like Vietnam and Thailand is good for Vietnamese football. He shared: “I think that no matter which team or region, there is always a rivalry. Not only Thailand but also Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia. Competition like this is good for the region. It brings maturity to the teams in the future.”