Coach Park Hang Seo reveals the menu to improve the physical strength of U23 Vietnam

Although he has only been in charge for more than 3 months, Coach Park Hang Seo has helped U23 Vietnam solve the physical problem well, helping Vietnam overcome a series of strong opponents, bringing home the prestigious silver medal at the U23 Asian tournament.

In an interview with Korean newspaper Sport Naver and during a recent press conference, Coach Park shared that before taking office as coach of the Vietnam national team, many people told him that the physical strength of Vietnamese players was quite weak.

In just a short time, Coach Park has helped the physical strength of the Vietnamese players improve significantly.

During the short time of the national team, he determined that it was very difficult to improve physical strength, so he changed tactics. However, he asked to measure the body index of the U23 Vietnam players, from which he discovered that the upper body of the Vietnamese players was quite weak.

However, through training sessions, he realized that Vietnamese players are very fast, skillful, intelligent and physically stronger than he thought, although not as good as Korean players. He emphasized that in football, small body shape does not mean poor physical strength.

Immediately after that, he asked the players to go to the gym regularly 3-4 times a week for 1 month before entering the U23 Asian tournament.

Regarding food, Coach Park Hang Seo affirmed that there are always two principles: absolute respect for Vietnamese culture and absolute respect for Vietnamese cuisine. He encouraged the players to drink more milk and eat tofu because they did not have this habit before.

At the same time, he also requested to change the menu to improve physical strength. Starting with asking VFF to create a detailed menu for the team for 1 month. This is unprecedented.

Salmon salad and steak have been added to the menu of the Vietnam U23 players by coach Park Hang Seo.

The 58-year-old coach said that the players previously only ate pho, fried meat... so he requested to add salmon salad, beef steak or dishes the players had never eaten before to stimulate their appetite and interest.

Although not staying at a hotel to avoid costs, Mr. Park also requested that VFF maintain the same menu as at a luxury hotel, and that if the players wanted to eat something, they should be allowed to eat it. Luckily, these requests were accepted.

Among the sponsors is a milk company, they also require players to check their nutrition regularly and promptly supplement if lacking.

Coach Park Hang Seo also issued 6 “bans” to the U23 Vietnam players, which is to absolutely not use the phone while eating. He explained that this is to help the players bond more – something he noticed was still lacking among the members, with the situation of saying goodbye to each other and then going back to their rooms after practice.

He believes that in a football team as well as a family, there needs to be more sharing, not only in football but also in life. Only with close affection and unity can one maximize one's potential in competition.

Coach Park shared that after issuing the "ban", the players performed very well, while he himself sometimes did not remember and had to receive the "penalty".