Park Hang-seo looks to repeat 2018 success in last tournament with Vietnam

Park Hang-seo is looking to go out with a bang as he takes his last lap as the manager of the Vietnamese national team at the AFF Championship, the same tournament that made him a national hero in the country back in 2018.

Vietnam coach Park Hang-seo reacts during the second leg of an AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 football semi-final match between Vietnam and Thailand at the National Stadium in Singapore on Dec. 26, 2021. [AFP/YONHAP]

Park Hang-seo is looking to go out with a bang as he takes his last lap as the manager of the Vietnamese national team at the AFF Championship, the same tournament that made him a national hero in the country back in 2018.

The AFF Championship, officially called the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 this year, is open to nations affiliated with the Asean Football Federation (AFF), making it the top regional tournament for southeast Asia. The event started on Tuesday and runs to Jan. 16.

A total of 10 countries are split into two groups for the group stage. Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Brunei are in Group A, while Vietnam is in Group B alongside Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore.

Thailand has won the most times with six titles, while Singapore has won four and Vietnam has won twice, in 2008 and 2018.

Park, former assistant manager of the Korean national team under Guus Hiddink and former manager of the Korean U-23 team, joined the Vietnamese squad in October 2017 after a stint with Changwon City FC.

When he was appointed, there was some initial skepticism about his ability and he received a fairly unfriendly reception from the crowd when he first stepped on to a Vietnamese pitch. Less than a year later, the 63-year-old was quickly becoming a national hero and the face of a momentous football reformation in Vietnam.

Park Hang-seo celebrates with the Vietnam national team on Dec. 15, 2018 after winning the 2018 AFF Championship, beating Malaysia 1-0 in the second leg of the final at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam. [YONHAP]

Park, who was also in charge of the U-23 side, started off leading Vietnam to the final of the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship, beating stronger teams like Australia, Iraq and Qatar along the way. A couple of months later he led the senior team to the semifinals of the 2018 Asian Games, then followed that up with the win at the 2018 AFF Championship.

A year later, Vietnam reached the quarterfinals at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and won a gold medal at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Nearly all of these feats were either a first for Vietnam, or at least a first since the country was unified.

Unsurprisingly, Park is something of a hero in Vietnam. His magic touch is legendary and he's got the paperwork to prove it — the new contract he signed at the end of 2019 is the biggest Vietnamese football has ever seen. He has received two different orders of merit in Vietnam in recognition of his contribution to the country.

Last June, Park coached Vietnam to yet another historic milestone, as the team qualified for the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the closest the country has ever got to the world's biggest football tournament. Vietnam finished second in Group G in the second round, trailing behind the United Arab Emirates in first place, but qualified as the fourth-highest ranking runner-up team, with 17 points.

Park’s five-year journey as a coach in Vietnam will come to an end this January when the AFF Championship finishes.

As of press time, Vietnam were set to face Laos on Wednesday as their first group stage match. They will next face Malaysia on Tuesday. That match will pit two teams led by Korean managers against each other, as the Malaysian squad is coached by Kim Pan-gon.

The two-legged finals of the AFF Championship will be played at home and away and are scheduled to take place on Jan. 13 and Jan. 16.

BY SONG JI-HOON, YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]