Coach Park Hang Seo: "Without my wife, I wouldn't be where I am today"
There would not have been such a resilient U23 Vietnam at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship without the presence of Coach Park Hang Seo. And there would not have been such a passionate and enthusiastic Park Hang Seo if he did not have a wife who is always ready to be his support.
Ask your wife before coming to Vietnam
After more than 3 months in the S-shaped country, Coach Park Hang Seo has brought 3 outstanding achievements to Vietnamese football. Firstly, he completed the task of bringing the Vietnamese team to the 2019 Asian Cup finals.
Second, he helped U23 Vietnam defeat U23 Thailand, something that Vietnamese football has not been able to do for nearly two decades, to win the Bronze Medal at the M-150 Cup friendly tournament.
Finally, he brought U23 Vietnam to the final of U23 Asia 2018. It was an achievement that even in dreams, Vietnamese people in particular and Southeast Asians in general could not have imagined would come true.
To come and make the dreams of Vietnamese football come true like that, Coach Park Hang Seo must thank two people. First is his representative, who called to inform that the Vietnamese team needed a head coach. Coach Park considered very carefully and thought carefully about whether to leave Korea to accept the challenge of leading a national team.
During his 36 years in football, he has never played or coached a team outside of his home country of Korea. Facing a new turning point in his life at the age of nearly 60, Coach Park decided to ask the second person for his opinion, which was Ms. Choi Sang A, his other half. What he saw from her after that proposal was a nod of approval.
Mrs. Choi Sang A supports her husband's decision to go to Vietnam.
“Without my wife, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“I have been married for more than 30 years now, since I was a football player,” Coach Park Hang Seo shared. “You know, when you spend your life with football, you almost never have time to go home. Especially when I was a coach at the age of over 40.
At that time, I only knew about work, but I could hardly do anything about housework. Everything was taken care of by my wife. Without my wife, I could not do what I am pursuing. Without my wife, there would certainly not be a Park Hang Seo who has been coaching for 20-30 years like today."
The coaching profession is always full of stress and pressure. Wins, losses, and media pressure always drag coaches into a spiral of stress. At those times, Coach Park's wife always plays an important role, helping him regain balance in life. "My wife is a private person, rarely shows it on the outside. But she is the support for us to find a direction together. I always thank my wife for everything. Because without my wife, I would not be who I am today."
Coach Park's wife came to Vietnam to support her husband in the first days away from his homeland, Korea.
As the person who approved of her husband coming to Vietnam to be a coach, Coach Park's wife also accompanied him in the initial stage of being unfamiliar with the S-shaped country. The two took a taxi to dinner together, confiding in each other on nights when they were no longer thinking about the round ball. Although they were only with her husband for a mere 2 weeks before returning to Korea to take care of the house, it also helped Coach Park overcome the feeling of emptiness and loneliness when working in a foreign land.
The U23 Vietnam players dedicated their runner-up position in the 2018 AFC U23 Championship to their parents. As for coach Park, he sent his deepest thanks to his wife, who has always been his support when he needed it most.
