On Monday night, Park Han-seo will go to Vietnam’s dugout again.
Confirming he will step down as Vietnam’s coach at the end of the 2022 AFF Championship, his reign may end with a final hooray in the form of a second regional title against Thailand on Friday night.
Hate the spotlight but never give in to ambition, Park must already be wanting the final highlight on a list of glorious accomplishments.
Players are hungry to send him to the top as he is arguably the man who revived Vietnamese football, amidst lesser-known fanfare since his arrival in Vietnam in 2017. .
Before his appointment, Vietnam was in the doldrums – the sleeping giant watched other Southeast Asian rivals outpace them.
Following a high price tag that saw them reach the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup in 2007-08 and win the AFF’s first crown, Vietnam failed to significantly strengthen it.
Despite reaching the semi-finals in three of the next four editions of the AFF Championship, they never looked like true contenders and even suffered the stigma of a group stage exit in 2012. .
The failure of the under-23 teams to reach the knockout stage in the 2013 and 2017 Southeast Asia (SEA) Games was considered a disappointment.
Since Pak’s arrival, Vietnam have added another AFF title to their name, in addition to winning back-to-back gold medals at the last two SEA Games.
And it wasn’t just the local stage where they shined.
A fourth-place finish at the 2018 Asian Games, reaching the quarterfinals at the 2019 Asian Cup, and reaching the third and final round of the FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers for the first time were all groundbreaking under Park’s leadership. It was an event.
Off the field, Park, who has a reserved demeanor, has never been afraid to be the agitator the moment he sits on the bench watching his team play.
He doesn’t hesitate to argue touchlines, or even shoot back a jibe or two at the opposition at media conferences. The villain South Korea is portraying in a rival country only added to the admiration and affection he holds. Vietnam.
But he also has his fair share of critics, most of them from abroad.
It is undeniable that his time in charge of Vietnam coincided with a golden generation of talent, but Park nevertheless managed to bring out the likes of Nguyen Quang Hai, Do Duy Mine, Vu Van Thanh, Doan Van Hau and others. I had to help her reach her full potential.
On the other end of the spectrum, Nguyen Cong Huong and Luong Xuan Truong, two of the most watched Vietnamese players of the last decade, have failed to establish themselves as Vietnam’s true powerhouses under Park. not
As much as he puts good players at his disposal, Park deserves credit for turning them into a formidable team. No longer content with beating the likes of Cambodia and Laos at the regional level, they are looking to challenge heavyweights such as Japan and Saudi Arabia on the continental stage, just as they did in the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.
Others, with some validity, criticize Park’s conservative approach to football, which has been described as overly defensive and even negative.
Such a gameplan is understandable against stronger opponents, but is expected to see off comfortably against hostile Vietnam throughout his reign as well. An opportunity to try a more expansive and dominant style of play.
But that’s who he is, and that may be why his days in charge of Vietnam are coming to an end.
Perhaps having accomplished all they could under Pak, it’s time for the Vietnamese to find the next person to take them further.
For now, there is still one final dance between Park and Vietnam.
They hope it will help him win his second AFF title, but either way he won’t lose the legacy he’s carved out over the last five and a half years.
He is a legend of Vietnamese football.
