Coach Park Hang-seo reveals many surprises about Vietnamese football

Eliminate cultural conflicts

According to Coach Park, a strong team needs three elements of trust as follows: First, the players themselves believe in their own abilities; second, the players believe in their teammates; third, the players believe in the coach and assistants. Without one of the three elements above, the team cannot become a solid unit.

When Coach Park Hang-seo took over the role in Vietnam, he believed that all three of these factors were very weak. Coach Park explained: “The other two factors will change in the players’ thinking, but trusting the coach and assistants is something that concerns me. And I think I have to start from this. If there are misunderstandings and cultural conflicts, no matter how good the tactics and strategies are, they cannot be effectively conveyed to the players.

The first thing coach Park Hang-seo did when he arrived in Vietnam was to eliminate cultural conflicts. Photo: Nguyen Khoi

When players trust the coach, they will do their best in the match. They will be determined to go all the way for that person. That is the common point of excellent teams. On the contrary, if they do not have faith in the coach, they cannot develop 100% of their ability. That is why I eliminated all my stubbornness and conservatism, determined to adapt to the culture as quickly as possible."

Coach Park revealed further: “I have always been a very hot-tempered person. But I don’t know the language so I can’t act immediately. When a problem arises, I have to listen through an interpreter and then use the interpreter to convey my words. In short, while waiting for the translation to be finished, my anger naturally calms down.

Assistant Le Huy Khoa is the one who helps coach Park "cool down" when he gets angry. Photo: Trung Kien

I know who is at fault, but I try to avoid hurting them. And the interpreter also acts as a cushion to reduce negative emotions in our team. Of course, he is a talented person, translating Korean - Vietnamese very fluently. I always feel grateful to him."

Changing players' eating habits

Coach Park confided that he respects Vietnamese culture. But he cannot compromise on things related to football habits. For example, not practicing during the day but in the evening is fine. Because it is related to the weather. Besides, Coach Park does not compromise on eating habits and menu. If the menu is not improved, it will have negative effects on the match.

Coach Park said: “Eating only pho in the morning is not good. It’s not that I don’t like pho. When I checked the players’ bodies, I found that they lacked muscle and fat. To improve their physical strength, they need to lift weights and adjust their diet. That’s why I changed to a menu with lots of protein like tofu, steak, milk, fish, etc.

Coach Park Hang-seo changes the eating habits of Vietnamese players. Photo: Nhu Nguyen

It's not that I refuse Vietnamese culinary culture, but to improve the ability of the match, that is the ultimate choice. Before changing the menu, I showed the players documents about their body condition and the index of the world's players, comparing the index and explaining to them. When seeing such documents, the players could not help but admire. That is also the reason why I removed candy and chocolate from the dessert to avoid making the players fat.

Vietnamese players' physical strength is not weak at all.

Coach Park said: “When I took a look around the V.League to observe the players, I found that their standards were higher than I expected. Therefore, when I watched the players, the first thing I thought about was to maximize their strengths. If I can maximize their strengths, I can create a team that can compete well in Asia.”

Coach Park Hang-seo is a responsible worker. Photo courtesy of Trung Kien

Coach Park Hang-seo started his work with a friendly match against Afghanistan, he said: “In this match, I followed the 4-defender tactic but drew 0-0. Before the match, I asked the players and they said that was the most familiar tactic. That's why I followed it.

In fact, when looking at physical strength or technique, Vietnam is not inferior. There were only a few situations where they showed a little weakness. During the 90 minutes, we followed the 4-defender formation. When the match ended, I had useful information in my hands. Because I verified the truth that the 4-defender formation is not competitive. Because it is not effective and cannot use physical strength to the maximum.

Coach Park Hang-seo began to realize the team's weakness when playing with 4 defenders. Photo: Hai Hoang

But that does not mean it is not a tactic that can promote the strengths of Vietnamese players. After many tests and adjustments, I see that the abilities of Vietnamese players are maximized according to the 3-center-back formation.

After the M150 Cup friendly tournament in Thailand, Coach Park realized: “Looking at the data, I saw that the physical strength of Vietnamese players was on par with that of Korean players. That means they were not inferior. When I looked at the indicators, it seemed that the statement “weak physical strength” made me suspect that they were confusing physical strength with physique.

To be continued...

Part 2: Coach Park Hang-seo's 3-4-3 tactical construction process for Vietnamese football

Trong Hoang reveals coach Park Hang-seo's substitution strategy

(Baonghean.vn) - Since coach Park Hang-seo came to Vietnamese football, Trong Hoang has achieved many successes, from the 2018 AFF Cup to the 30th SEA Games championship. After each tournament, he is always grateful to his wife and his coach at the national team.

Trung Kien