Thailand - 'The promised land' for coach Park

Before Mr. Park came to Vietnam, every time he traveled to Thailand, it was "less good, more bad", our teams often lost more than won. But everything changed when Mr. Park was born in the year of Mau Tuat, which is considered suitable for Thai football fields.

Mr. Park "fits the land"

Coach Park and his team visited Thailand for the fourth time to attend the tournament. Photo: VFF

Mr. Park took over the Vietnamese team after the humiliating defeat of the U22 team at the 29th SEA Games, including a heavy 0-3 loss to the U22 team of Thailand. Having to participate in the M150 Cup friendly tournament in December 2017 (including 6 teams) organized by the Thai Football Federation made many Vietnamese fans worried.

But Mr. Park showed that he has luck, when he opened with a 4-0 victory over Myanmar, although he lost (1-2) to Uzbekistan, the team that later won the tournament, but promptly defeated host Thailand - the reigning SEA Games champion - with a score of 2-1 in the third place match.

With certain success in this friendly tournament, a month later Quang Hai, Cong Phuong with the addition of Van Duc, Xuan Manh won the runner-up position in the 2018 AFC U23 Championship in China.

Not "convinced" of the 2019 AFF Cup championship, the Thai Football Federation postponed the schedule several times to invite Mr. Park to lead the team to Thailand to participate in the 2019 King's Cup. In the opening match, Mr. Park defeated Thailand 1-0, causing the Thai people to pile on more pain.

In the final, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team only lost to Curacao on penalties (4-5), after a 1-1 draw in the two regular periods. Compared to the M150 Cup friendly tournament, this time the public criticized the Thai team for finishing bottom of the tournament much more fiercely.

To prepare for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has taken the trouble to invite Mr.Akira Nishino, Japan's top coach, returns to workHead coach of Thailand U22 team.The President of the Football Association of Thailand admitted: "Consecutive losses to the Vietnamese team caused him and his colleagues at FAT to lose sleep and appetite for many months."

Mr. Akira Nishino himself initially said firmly: "I only need 10 days of preparation to be able to defeat the Vietnamese team" but in reality, in the first match, the Thai team could not win. Even up to now, after 3 matches, Mr. Akira Nishino and Mr. Park are still undecided.

Relay

VFF invited Mr. Tran Van Nhung, the player who won the SEA Games gold medal 60 years ago, to meet with the coaching staff and U23 players. Photo: Tran Song Hai

In fact, this is the fourth time Coach Park Hang-seo and his players will not face the home team in the group stage. However, the charm of Mr. Park's journey to Thailand is still there and fans hope that his players will conquer the 2020 AFC U23 Championship and win a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In another psychological move, to encourage the U23 players before flying to Thailand to attend the 2020 AFC U23 Championship, VFF invited Mr. Tran Van Nhung, the player who won the SEA Games gold medal 60 years ago, to come and talk.

The midfielder of the team that won the SEA Games 1959 gold medal, now old and weak, still enthusiastically sits in a wheelchair to encourage the coaching staff and players of the younger generation who just won the SEA Games 30 gold medal. An exchange activity between the two generations witnessed by Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien and VFF Vice President Tran Quoc Tuan gave strength to Quang Hai and the Vietnamese players.