Park Hang-seo to coach Vietnam’s national team for three more years

Park Hang-seo will continue to coach Vietnam’s men’s national football team for an additional three years after the extension of the contract between him and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) was officially announced at a ceremony in Hanoi on November 7.

Park Hang-seo's new contract with the VFF will take effect from February 2020. (Photo: VFF)
Park Hang-seo's new contract with the VFF will take effect from February 2020. (Photo: VFF)

* Official: Coach Park Hang-seo extends contract with Vietnam Football Federation

Accordingly, Park’s new contract will take effect from February 2020, immediately after the Republic of Korea tactician completes his mission with Vietnam U23s at the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines and the 2020 AFC U23 Championship in Thailand.

The contract renewal came right ahead of Vietnam’s two World Cup qualifying matches against the UAE and Thailand, which shows the VFF’s complete faith in Park and gives him further motivation to push towards greater success with Vietnamese football.

“I have undergone two happy years in Vietnam. Over the period, some goals have been achieved, and some are still going on. In the moment of renewing the contract, I feel greater responsibilities on me,” Park stated at the event.

Vietnam head coach Park Hang-seo speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: VFF)

After constant success with Vietnamese football over the last two years, the 60-year-old tactician has received strong expectations in the new contract. Sharing about the pressure faced, he said: “Until now, the expectation index of Vietnamese people on football has become higher and higher. Such expectation will even increase in the coming years. I have also prepared myself for that. I will try my best to bring more successes to Vietnamese football. We will continue to attend many domestic tournaments and discover new promising talents to help Vietnam’s football system become more stable.”

In his address, VFF General Secretary Le Hoai Anh said the extension of the contract came as a result of the high consensus between the federation and coach Park Hang-seo concerning the sustainable and stable development goals of Vietnamese football.

“The VFF believes that, with his prestige, wholeheartedness, talent and dedication which have already been affirmed in the last two years, coach Park will continue to promote the effective and dedicated playing style as well as the collective strength for the Vietnamese national team towards new achievements, thus meeting the expectations of Vietnamese fans,” Anh emphasised.

Park and his Vietnamese players are actively preparing for their next Group G matches against the UAE (Nov. 14) and Thailand (Nov. 19) at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium, within the framework of the second round of the 2022 World Cup Asian qualifiers.