Coach Park Hang-seo: We want to repay our debt to Thailand at AFF Cup 2020

“Before the AFF Cup started, during the preparation for the tournament, I had a discussion with the players. We raised the topic like this: With the results of the draw, what is the team's goal, and how to achieve it. I wanted the players to ask the Head Coach and VFF for support. But they didn't want to talk about the championship, they wanted to aim for the final. Luckily, today we achieved that,” Coach Park Hang-seo said.

“Now we have two new goals. In the past 5 years, I have led the U23 team and the National Team, losing only one match against Thailand in the AFF Cup 2020. We want to repay this debt. This is also my last tournament as Head Coach of the National Team. I will try my best to win the championship to repay the love of the fans who have loved and supported us in the past time,” Coach Park Hang-seo emphasized.

Coach Park Hang-seo at the press conference before the first leg of the final. Photo by Hai Hoang

Coach Park Hang-seobelieves that Thailand is not missing many key players, mainly Chanathip. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese team is also missing Cong Phuong. Therefore, evaluating the teams needs to be objective.

Before the two decisive matches for the championship, Coach Park affirmed that he and his students always have the highest concentration: “I am the Head Coach, I always have to follow a schedule. I do not do personal work during this time, but always have to be alert to do my job well. My players and I limit participating in side programs.”

“Before every tournament, every match is the same. We have pressure, but the whole team tries to act instead of talk, not to put pressure on ourselves. The good news is that no player on the team is injured.” Coach Park Hang-seo said he consulted with Malaysian coach Kim Pan Gon to come up with a suitable strategy for the decisive match against Thailand. “We have basically analyzed Thailand. My assistant also went to Thailand to watch this team play against Malaysia in the semi-finals. Yesterday I talked with Malaysian coach Kim Pan Gon for advice. He is a Korean coach and has two matches against Thailand in the semi-finals.”

Regarding Coach Mano Polking saying that Vietnam only defends well but cannot attack as well as Thailand, Coach Park responded: “It is true that their attack is strong, the players are skilled. But Thailand has 16 goals, conceded 3 goals, while we have 14 goals and have not conceded. The difference of 2 goals does not mean that we have a worse attack. The Vietnamese team is good at attacking, not just defending. Thailand has its own way of playing, with two very high-quality wings. The left wing has 2 good players, the right wing has 3 flexible players, excellent movement. I am not afraid of Thailand's attack even though their midfield knows how to put pressure. If we can block the 3 players number 3, number 6 and number 8, I think there is no problem.”

In response to the opinion that the Vietnamese team has a “rough” playing style, Coach Park Hang-seo said: “Football is about fighting and having contact. My players never harm or intentionally injure their opponents.”