Coach Park Hang-seo receives a lot of love from his fans at a farewell in Hà Nội on Thursday. — Photo thanhnien.vn

Football

HÀ NỘI — Coach Park Hang-seo plans to help to open a youth football training academy in Việt Nam after his successful five-year stint as coach of the national side.

"I plan to cooperate and open a youth football training academy in Việt Nam. I will use my experience as a coach in both Việt Nam and South Korea to contribute to Vietnamese football in the future," Park said at the farewell meeting with local fans in Hà Nội on Thursday.

The South Korean coach officially ended his five-year journey on January 31 as the head coach of the national, Olympic, and U23 teams.

"During the past five years in Việt Nam, I have no regrets because I have lived and worked hard with the support of my dedicated assistants," Park said.

Coach Park Hang-seo was emotional when saying goodbye to the Vietnamese fans. — Photo vietnamnet.vn

The fans' love helped him become "the happiest coach in the world", he said.

Park came to Việt Nam by chance, thanks to his wife's suggestion and support. He intended to work in Southeast Asia and contacted the agent Lee Dong-jun in 2016, but it was not until a year later, when the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) opened a search for the head coach that Lee put forward Park.

Park said that at first, he was a bit reserved because he didn't know anything about Southeast Asian football and thought he would start at the club-level.

Coach Park Hang-seo bows to the fans. — Photo vtc.vn

Park's ensure started with a 0-0 draw with Afghanistan in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifying round at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium on November 14, 2017, a month after officially signing the contract with the VFF.

He said in that first match, he was very worried because he couldn't even remember the players' names.

"If the result was not good, I may have to go home. Fortunately, that match was a draw, so now I'm still sitting here with everyone," he said.

Letters from fans of Park Hang-seo. — Photo thanhnien.vn

Since then, Park has coached 98 matches with Vietnamese teams, including 57 wins (55.8 per cent).

More importantly, Park brought the Vietnamese football position to a new level in regional, continental and international events, setting a Southeast Asian record of five consecutive years in the world's top 100.

The departure of Park caused regret for many people, although all understood that it would open new opportunities for the national teams and Vietnamese football.

Park said he would stay in Hà Nội until June before returning to South Korea and left open the possibility of returning to Việt Nam soon to launch a new plan. VNS