Park Hang-Seo goodbye legend
Park Hang-Seo, goodbye legend of Vietnam who has departed as head coach after the conclusion of the AFF 2022 championship.
It was not the result that millions of the Golden star warriors fan had expected, but regardless of another AFF title, Park Hang-Seo remained his legendary status.
Tears were seen while the Korean coach put his hand on his chest for the last time during the anthem ahead of AFF 2022 final return leg.
Vietnam players did their best to gift their coach his last outing with the national team, but Theerathon Bunmahan’s stunning strike put and end to all.
After the final whistle, Park came to the stands waving goodbye while tapping on the chest for the last time showing appreciation for the traveling fans in the stadium.
The achievements Park won during his reign for Vietnam national team
The day he was appointed in 2017, many Vietnam fans must have done their searches on the internet to find out who is Park Hang-seo.
5 years later, he won it all for the country where football is the real king of sports.
Following the high of reaching the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup and winning a maiden AFF crown between 2007-08, Vietnam would fail to significantly build on that, and the targets were clear for Park: AFF and Sea games were must-win goals.
And these following were impressive enough for his reign as Vietnam head coach:
- Back-to-back gold medals at the last two SEA Games
- AFF Champions 2018
- Fourth-place finish at the 2018 ASIAN Games
- Last-eight appearance at the 2019 ASIAN Cup
- Reached the third and final round of FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers for the first time
Some might say that Park had his luck with Vietnam owning a golden generation of talent, but it’s him who was the final piece of the jigsaw – putting everything together.
The likes of Nguyen Quang Hai, Do Duy Manh, Vu Van Thanh and Doan Van Hau fulfilled their full potential, all thanks to Park.
As a true leader with strong characteristics who never scared to show his edge during the game, Park made people love him with his passion.
Park deserves credit for nurturing his players into becoming a formidable team – the team to beat and feel no longer content defeating the likes of Cambodia and Laos at regional level.
The level and expectations were higher as they grew hunger and looking to challenge heavyweights such as Japan and Saudi Arabia on the continental stage – as they did in the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.
The defeat in AFF 2022 final in Thais’ hands did not do any damage to Park’s image and status in the national team, even though at some points, people still made some complaints about the tactics he made.
At this moment, it’s hard to imagine any successor that would fit to Vietnam’s style of football better than Park, which made the search for the next manager hard than ever.
For now, Park’s legacy would stand in the national team history, as the one who brought the country’s football to another height.