For Park Hang-seo, the most successful manager in the history of Việt Nam, improving the training quality of the national team is essential for further success in the future. —AFP/VNA Photo
HÀ NỘI — The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) plans to meet all terms put forward by Coach Park Hang-seo to extend his time with the Vietnamese national football team.
According to thethao247 (sport247), Coach Park won’t be asking for a much higher salary in his new contract. Instead, he wants to talk with VFF about plans related to the operation of the national teams, including the U23 national team.
One of the main requirements is that the teams face stronger opponents in friendly matches to enhance the quality and experience of the players.
More investment in infrastructure and service conditions, from eating to sleeping, are also a priority of the 64-year-old Korean manager.
“VFF will try their best to meet the demands from the coaching board for the national team,” said VFF President Lê Khánh Hải.
“We have sent an offer to coach Park’s agent for an official meeting. It is expected that the two sides will meet after the two matches against China and Oman in the 2022 World Cup’s third qualifier.”
Park’s agent, Lee Dong-jun, will arrive in Việt Nam after Việt Nam’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers to open discussions about Park’s long-term future.
Park first came to work in Việt Nam in 2017 on a two-year deal, which he then extended by three more years.
His current contract runs out in four months time, at the end of January. A one-year extension to that deal is already written into his existing contract, therefore it is likely the coach will honour the extra 12 months until January 31, 2023.
In the previous extension, VFF doubled the Korean’s salary to around US$50,000 per month, after-tax. Even when international football was mostly frozen in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, VFF still maintained Park’s salary as a tribute to his outstanding contribution to the Việt Nam national football team.
This policy differed from the Football Association of Thailand as they reduced the salary of their former coach Akira Nishino by 50 per cent.
The South Korean is considered the most successful manager of the national team to date. Under Park, Việt Nam secured fourth place at the Asian Games, second place at the AFC U23 Championship and won the AFF Championship in 2018. The team also won the Southeast Asian Games in 2019.
Park Hang-seo and the national team have some important assignments ahead. They are expected to go as far as possible in the 2022 World Cup’s third-round qualifiers and the 2022 Asian U23 Championship qualifiers. They will then defend their titles at the 2021 AFF Cup and the 31st SEA Games.
Park and his players are currently in the UAE to prepare for their match against China on October 7. Five days later, they will play the hosts Oman in Muscat. — VNS
