AFF Cup 2018 group stage: 6 strong impressions of "wizard" Park Hang Seo

1. Fair to all

One of the keys to winning the trust and love of Mr. Park is that he treats everyone fairly. There is no bias in the Korean coach's selection decisions.

Mr. Park chooses players based on their current form, playing attitude, dedication and desire to win. That is the reason why Anh Duc, 33 years old and once removed from the AFF Cup 2016 list by Coach Huu Thang, is still highly regarded by Mr. Park. That is the reason why a young Dinh Thanh Trung, who was the 2017 Vietnam Golden Ball, was still removed from the list of players for this year's tournament by Mr. Park.

2. Clear football philosophy

Since taking over as Vietnam national team coach, Mr. Park Hang Seo has shown a very clear and consistent football philosophy. We can easily see that he has decided for the team to play 3-4-3 and considers this the standard formation for the team at the present time.

Against opponents that are rated lower, Mr. Park still lets his players play offensively, but against stronger opponents or those considered equal, the Korean coach often lets us play defensive counter-attacks, accepting less possession of the ball, playing like an underdog.

3. Careful and humble

Mr. Park has never made any big statements, shown subjectivity, or looked down on his opponents. The Korean coach instilled confidence in his players, but he always reminded and warned them not to fall into a state of subjectivity.

Mr. Park always adheres to the principle of focusing and calculating for each match, avoiding mentioning distant plans or goals. Against every opponent, even teams that are clearly weaker than us, Mr. Park always respects them and is extremely careful with his preparations.

This was evident in the recent match between Vietnam and Cambodia. Against such a weak opponent, playing at home, Mr. Park still used the same three central defenders who started earlier.

He even increased Vietnam’s ability to control the midfield by using the defensive midfielder pair Duc Huy and Hung Dung to play together. All to avoid any unexpected or even the smallest risks that could happen to the Vietnam team.

4. Create trust and closeness for players

Although strict in the criteria for selecting personnel, Mr. Park does not turn himself into a cold coach who only specializes in imposing orders and discipline. He often creates a comfortable atmosphere and builds close, friendly relationships with the players.

Many times we see him having fun moments with the players during training. On the field, he is always ready to protect the players when needed. Like the way he recently argued with the Myanmar coach to protect Cong Phuong.

In the media, Mr. Park never showed any disrespect to the Vietnamese team's opponents, but he also never made any statements to belittle his team. On the contrary, he showed a confident attitude. That spread to the players, gradually changing their mental state.

5. Believe in the young generation

Although he is not the pioneer coach in the trend of rejuvenating the Vietnamese team, everyone can see that under Park Hang Seo, we have a team with the youngest average age among the previous versions of the Vietnamese team participating in the AFF Cup. Thanks to Mr. Park's trust, all of Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Van Hau, Van Duc, Van Thanh, Quang Hai, Dinh Trong, Duy Manh, Hong Duy... have the opportunity to show their potential and qualities like today.

6. Flexible personnel adjustment, good situation reading

Perhaps no coach has ever made a strong impression like Park Hang Seo in terms of his ability to use personnel. He has made us admire him many times for his timely and precise adjustments in matches. Many times, the personnel options he has chosen, whether as a starter or a substitute, have been effective.

Like the way he chose Van Duc to start instead of Van Quyet in the match against Malaysia. Like the way he pushed Quang Hai to play higher in the match against Cambodia. Like the decision to call Anh Duc back to the national team for this AFF Cup... There are so many wise decisions like that that we cannot possibly count them all.