Former professional football coach Kim Sang-sik will take the helm of the Vietnamese national soccer team after Park Hang-seo.
An official familiar with the Southeast Asian soccer market told KBS reporters, “Coach Kim Sang-sik recently met with the Vietnam Football Association and completed the contract to coach the Vietnamese national team.”
Coach Kim Sang-sik, who has stayed in Europe since leaving for Germany on the 5th to watch the matches of his old team players, including Lee Jae-sung and Kim Min-jae, who are playing in the Bundesliga, returned to Korea last week and completed negotiations on the Vietnamese national team.
The two-year contract runs through March 2026. Coach Kim Sang-sik, who returned to the leadership position in about a year after taking the helm of Jeonbuk in the K-League last year, will depart for Vietnam this weekend.
Coach Kim Sang-sik’s trip to Vietnam was largely influenced by coach Park Hang-seo, who achieved the greatest performance in Vietnamese soccer history.
Coach Park Hang-seo led Vietnamese soccer to the final qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for the first time, including the runner-up of the 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Championship, winning the 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFF) Cup, the quarterfinals of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, and the gold medal at the 2019 and 2021 Southeast Asian Games.
However, when Park Hang-seo stepped down as head coach in January 2023, French coach Trussier was appointed, and Vietnamese soccer fell into the worst slump. Recently, the Vietnamese Football Association replaced Trussier last month after losing one win and nine games, including seven consecutive official matches. With the possibility of elimination from the second qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup, the Vietnamese Football Association has begun the process of appointing a new coach, and the choice has been decided to be Kim Sang-sik.
According to officials, the Vietnamese Football Association’s decision to coach Kim Sang-sik was attributed to his short career as a coach compared to other candidates, but he won the K-League and advanced to the semifinals of the ACL. In addition, it is said that his various abilities, including his long career as a coach in a team called Jeonbuk and his experience coaching famous players in a team called Jeonbuk, received positive reviews.
On top of that, it is analyzed that Park Hang-seo’s image of change and dedication to the Korean leader showed to Vietnamese soccer in the past, and the role of Park Hang-seo’s agency, which had smooth communication between the Vietnamese Football Association and Park Hang-seo, played a role under Park Hang-seo’s system.
Starting with Park Hang-seo, who has been blowing the “Saldingk” craze in Vietnamese soccer, another Korean head coach is preparing to show his leadership skills following Indonesia’s Shin Tae-yong, who is now cruising in Doha, Qatar.
BY: 스포츠토토