[Photo Credit to Pxhere.com]

On January 13th, Hangseo Park, the head coach of the Vietnam national soccer team, had his last game with the team. 

Coach Park's last game was the final of AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 against Thailand; Vietnam lost the game with Thailand.

The final of AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 with Thailand consisted of 3 games; in the first game, they tied by 2-2, and in the second game, Thailand won Vietnam by 1-0. 

Due to their loss in the last game, Vietnam was not able to get first place. 

Park's last game as a coach of  the Vietnam national soccer team ended with second place in the Mitsubishi Cup.

Coach Park said in an interview,  “It hurts my heart to have to say goodbye. In life, there are encounters and partings. I also want to clear my mind and go on a new path.” 

In the interview, coach Park also said he does not currently have specific plans, but mentioned that if he has a chance, wants to try to coach the youth players. 

Hangseo Park was a soccer player and is now a soccer coach. 

Coach Park was a coach of the Korea soccer team in the World Cup 2002, the year that Korea got in 4th place.

In 2017, Coach Park started his head coach career in Vietnam.

His initial plan was to stay in Vietnam for 2 years, but he ended up extending his contract twice.

He stayed in Vietnam as a head coach for a total of 5 years . 

He was also a head coach of the Vietnam U-23 soccer team the same time when he was the head coach of the Vietnam national soccer team. 

Under coach Park, the Vietnam U-23 national soccer team won the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEA) and the 2021 Southeast Asian Games (SEA).

Coach Park was able to make many successful results with the Vietnam national soccer team, so he is called Vietnam’s Hiddink from the Vietnamese. 

He was highly respected not only because of the great results that he was able to produce, but also because of the leadership that he showed to the players. 

In 2018, coach Park led the Vietnam national soccer team to the first place of 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup, which was Vietnam’s first championship in ten years.

Furthermore, in the 2019 Asian Cup, the Vietnam national soccer team reached the quarter finals under coach Park, which was a really good result for Vietnam. 

Under coach Park, Vietnam reached the final Asian qualification round for the 2022 Qatar World Cup for the first time. 

Vietnam was ranked 130th in FIFA when coach Park first started his career in Vietnam, but after 5 years of his coaching, Vietnam ranked 96th. 

Additionally, the popularity of soccer in Vietnam increased after coach Park led the national soccer team. 

Coach Park received a lifetime pass from  Vietnam Airlines.

Vietnam Airlines said that it was a gift of appreciation to coach Park for leading the national soccer team for 5 years.