Coach Park Hang-seo: 'Will bring Vietnam team into the world's top 100'

The new head coach of the Vietnam national team announced that he will apply a short and fast playing style, in his first press conference at the headquarters of the Vietnam Football Federation on the morning of October 11.

Coach Parkwith VFF Vice President Tran Quoc Tuan at the launching ceremony today.

- What style of play do you plan to build for the Vietnamese team?

- I believe that football is a team sport, not a one-man game. That's why I always build teams that are organized,systematic and well-prepared for every development of the match. I will choose a style of play that favors movement, short and fast balls. To do this, the players must be focused, have good spirit and be disciplined. I focus on the first touch, the ability to observe left-right and front-back, the players' mobile bodies and reasonable off-ball running.

- What specific level of success do you expect to bring to the Vietnamese team?

- I haven't had many opportunities to learn deeply about Vietnamese football, but after yesterday's match, the Vietnamese team has many things that are consistent with my football philosophy. At this time, I aim to bring Vietnam to 100th place on the FIFA rankings (currently, the Vietnamese team is ranked 130th).

Mr. Park and VFF representative introduced the contract...

... and national team jersey. Photo: Lam Thoa.

- What do you think about Vietnam's 5-0 victory over Cambodia in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers last night?

- Congratulations to the whole team on the victory. I am satisfied with all aspects of this match. However, there is one thing that makes me worried: the opponent passed the ball too easily and still penetrated deep into the Vietnamese team's field. I will adjust that later.

- What do you think about the upcoming Vietnam team list?

- TMy first match in charge will be against Afghanistan in November in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers. There is not much time left so I will rely on the recently selected list, the goal is to help the team win more.

- This is your first time working abroad, how did your family influence your decision?

- My wife doesn't know much about football, even though I'm a coach. Before coming to Vietnam to work this time, I discussed it with my wife. She wasn't too worried and realized that this was a challenge for me. She accepted success or failure.

- The recent foreign coaches of the Vietnam national team all had to leave their positions early. Are you confident that you will be able to finish your 2-year and 2-month contract?

- I just signed a few minutes ago, I haven't started working yet, so I just want to say that I will try my best to finish my term successfully. I am completely confident. Of course, leading the national team always has risks.But I have experience so I was not worried or afraid at all when accepting the offer.

- He used to be an assistant.Guus Hiddink, when the famous Dutch strategist led the Korean team at the 2002 World Cup. How did he share about his work during that period?

- In Guus Hiddink's coaching staff, it is difficult to classify assistant number 1, number 2 or number 3. But once Hiddink was about to go play golf, he turned to me and said: 'My right hand is here, I can go'. That made me confident that I was quite an important person to him. In the near future, there will be a chance for Hiddink to come to Vietnam, you can ask him more details.

Coach Park Hang-seo in the stands of My Dinh Stadium, watching Vietnam beat Cambodia 5-0 yesterday, October 10. Photo: Lam Thoa.

Coach Park arrived in Vietnam at noon on October 10 with language assistant Lee Dong Jun (Xuan Truong's representative in Korea).His contract with the Vietnam Football Federation will last for 2 years and 2 months, from October 2017 to the end of 2019. He will take on the coaching role in both the national team and the Olympic team.

After his debut in Vietnam, he will return to Korea to continue his work at Changwon City Club - a team playing in the Third Division (National League). Changwon is currently ranked seventh out of eight teams in the National League. If they do not achieve positive results in the final matches, Mr. Park's team will be relegated.

According to VNE