Coach Park Hang-seo and the story of bringing Vietnamese football to the top of the region

Then, he continuously went from victory to victory, bringing Vietnamese football to the top of the region and gradually reaching the continent, very close to a ticket to the biggest festival of world football, the World Cup. That was the step up, the maturity of Vietnamese football with the contribution of many groups and individuals, including the special mark of the Korean strategist, coach Park Hang-seo.

But remember that the "great achievements" of coach Park Hang-seo started from things that we often consider small and trivial. Remember that in the history of Vietnamese football, it is not uncommon for many players to be called up to the national team but "go up and leave" simply, for trivial reasons, go up but do not want to learn, strive, or give up. Not to mention, if the team does not achieve anything worth mentioning, then going up and not going up often does not make much difference, so people are indifferent, let it go, perfunctorily, and let it go.

Coach Park Hang-seo has brought many successes to Vietnamese football and vice versa, thanks to which he is also treated appropriately. Photo: Anh Tuan

But for coach Park Hang-seo, whoever is selected for the national team is doing national duty, honoring the nation, representing football to "Bring the bell to strike the country/Even if it doesn't ring, ring it once to make it ring" as the traditional mindset of Vietnamese people for generations.

The first thing is to cultivate the awareness of each player, both those who are on the national team for the first time and those who are returning to the national team, through the most specific and sacred act of every Vietnamese person, especially those who wear the Vietnamese national team shirt, which is to sing the Vietnamese national anthem "full and clear". Only after completing that first task, the "joining the team" ritual, can we begin physical training, technical and tactical training, and have enough strength and confidence to be ready to enter the difficult but certainly successful battles ahead.

Once it becomes a habit, people often talk about the story of coach Park Hang-seo's "favorite student" with many different meanings. But above all, the teacher has faith in any student who is always "hardworking and trying hard", he trusts them to the end, nothing can shake them.

The story of similarities and differences related to the two "rescued students" Van Duc and Xuan Manh is a story that tells a lot. The two students come fromLam River Nghe AnThese two players all “came from” the final round of the U21 Thanh Nien Newspaper tournament in 2018, were called up and even entered the final list for the first glorious battle in the snowy Changzhou that year, bringing these two excellent young players to the same “team” with Quang Hai, Xuan Truong, Cong Phuong… But the turning point happened after both of them got injured one after another, Van Duc returned to his true self and continued to be called up, while Xuan Manh struggled to be called up and sent back even though he was still playing well in everything at the Vinh team?

Coach Park Hang-seo tries to create a comfortable atmosphere in the Vietnam team before the match against the Singapore team. Photo: Hai Hoang

To see,Coach Park Hang-seoalways clear, distinct, love is love to the end, is "love to the end" as he called and placed Van Duc in the starting lineup, trust in this slim student even though public opinion sometimes said cruel words (especially in the 3rd qualifying round of the World Cup). His trust is well-founded, has concrete results, and was duly rewarded with Van Duc's dream-like goal in the victory over neighboring China at the beginning of this Spring of Nham Dan.

Meanwhile, the story with Xuan Manh is not going as expected, still "if there is a problem, let it be a problem" causing concern and long-term waiting for the coach as well as many fans. Xuan Manh is good, but it seems that his teammates in the same position on the national team are better, more versatile, more effective, so he had to pack up and return to his hometown in the team's big campaigns. But it is admirable that Xuan Manh is always not discouraged, always "diligent and hard-working" at Song Lam Nghe An and certainly the door to the national team, to sing the Vietnamese National Anthem "round and clear" will come again, regardless of whether the person holding the guiding table is Mr. Park Hang-seo, Mr. Lee Young-jin, Mr. Gong Oh-kun or any other coach who will come after March 31, 2023.

There are many stories about Mr. Park Hang-seo's mark, and they are still being talked about a lot in the journey of Vietnamese football. Most importantly, he is the one who knows how to inspire confidence, pride, gather and enhance the strength of each individual into a unified strength, multiplying the strength of a collective, a team rich in identity and personality, a sublime playing style, dedication and very difficult to defeat. The story is simple, first is to go on the field without fear of Thailand, not afraid of any opponent. Then victory creates momentum for victory, belief after belief, every time the players are honored to wear the traditional red shirt, raise their heads to sing the Vietnamese National Anthem and proudly, bravely step onto the battlefield...