Before the 2018 AFF Cup semi-final, what did the two coaches who attended the World Cup say?
(Baonghean.vn) - In the press conference before the first leg of the semi-final, coach Park Hang-seo surprisingly let goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung attend the press conference. The Korean strategist was eager to see who was better than his colleague Goran Eriksson, but the important thing was that the Vietnamese team had to achieve the best result.
Tomorrow’s semi-final between the Philippines and Vietnam will go down in AFF Cup history as both coaches have been to the World Cup. In 2002, Coach Park Hang-seo, as assistant to Coach Guus Hiddink, led South Korea to the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Coach Eriksson’s England lost 1-2 to Brazil in the quarter-finals.
Speaking at a press conference before the match, coach Park Hang-seo said: “We have achieved our first goal of winning first place in Group A. Now it is time to achieve our second goal of passing the semi-finals. Tomorrow’s match against the Philippines will not be easy, but we will try our best to get the best result.”
Coach Park Hang-seo said the Vietnamese team is not allowed to disrespect their opponents even though some of the Philippines players have to return to their clubs: "I heard that the Philippines team has some quality players but cannot participate in the match because they have to return to their clubs, but the remaining players are also at a very high level, we have to prepare carefully for tomorrow's match."
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| The battle of wits with coach Goran Eriksson made coach Park Hang-seo extremely excited. Photo: SN |
Regarding the bad press coverage of the pitch, Coach Park shared his opinion: “I know the pitch is bad but I haven’t checked it yet and will do so at the training session on the evening of December 1. I think the players are used to the grass here so I don’t think the quality of the pitch will affect the quality of the match too much.”
“I think the Philippines have a lot of physical players with good physique. They play long balls and counter-attack quickly. The Philippines sometimes play on the wings and break through the middle, so we have to concentrate as much as possible to not let them close in.Another important thing is that the Philippines plays cautiously. I saw that in the matches against East Timor, the Philippines did not score many goals or control the ball," Coach Park continued.
The Korean strategist said he was very eager to compete and match wits with Philippines coach Eriksson: “The Philippines has a very high-quality coaching staff. Their coach is famous. I have heard a lot about Mr. Eriksson's level before. I really look forward to competing with Mr. Eriksson in tomorrow's match.”
Finally, coach Park Hang-seo said he has no changes in tactics for tomorrow's semi-final match: "As I said before, the Vietnamese team has no changes in tactics for tomorrow's match. The Philippines is the home team and has prepared carefully. We need to do our best to get the best result."
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| Coach Eriksson at a press conference at Panaad Stadium on the afternoon of December 1. Photo: AFF |
As for the opponent, the former England coach highly appreciated Vietnam, but believed the Philippines would win in the first leg of the semi-final on December 2.
"I know that Vietnamese football has been very successful recently, especially the U23 team winning the Asian silver medal. I have also watched many matches of the Vietnamese team, including all of their matches at the AFF Cup. Vietnam is a good team, both in defense and attack. In particular, the team's organization is very high," coach Sven-Goran Eriksson shared on the afternoon of December 1.
"I appreciate Vietnam. I respect this team, but we are not afraid. The Philippines is also a strong team. It is very difficult to beat Vietnam. But we can do it. The Vietnamese players play with concentration, control the ball well in the middle of the field and are especially dangerous in counter-attacks. We know what we have to do. The Philippines will have a good match," coach Eriksson affirmed./.
"Who starts in each match is decided by coach Park Hang-seo, and we are always ready. As long as we are on the field, all the players in the Vietnam team are ready to work together to achieve the best results for the team" - Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung shared at the press conference.
AFF Cup 2018: Vietnam controls the ball low, Thailand attacks most effectively
(Baonghean.vn) - Let's look back at the notable statistics after the group stage of the AFF Cup 2018, in which the Vietnamese team, although leading in the number of shots on target, was not the most effective team. Coach Park Hang-seo and his team kept a clean sheet but the ball control rate was quite low.
