National team coach Park Hang-Seo and his five-year journey in Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) - After five years of working as the head coach of the national men’s football team of Vietnam with an array of successes, Korean coach Park Hang-seo will say goodbye to the squad on January 31, 2023.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has announced that it and Park had agreed to end their contract next January. It means that the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 in December 2022 will be the last time the Korean coach takes charge of the national team.

"I will always remember my five-year journey with the Vietnam Football Federation," Park said in the VFF's press release.

"As head coach of the national team and the U23 squad, I have focused on every tournament. Whatever the result, I believe I have completed my tasks responsibly. My job has been made possible by the strong support from players, VFF leaders, staff, and Vietnamese people. It has been an interesting and memorable journey," he said.

The 65-year-old coach thanked Vietnamese people for their love and support during his time in the Southeast Asian country. Although he will leave his position, he plans to continue helping in the near future.  

Park said that ever since becoming national coach in 2017, he wanted to be a bridge between Vietnam and the RoK in all fields of life, including football.

He will keep carrying out his duty and try harder to enhance the excellent friendship between the two countries.

While speaking to reporters in the past, Park said he considers Vietnam his second home and plans to work in youth football after his retirement. 

Park said he is looking at options to carry out his youth football and community projects in Vietnam.

The VFF sincerely thanked Park for his great efforts and contributions to the national football team since 2017. 

Park showed high responsibility, professionalism and devotion. He pushed the national side to a new level and created inspiration for Vietnam to aim even higher in the future. 

Coach Park Hang-seo (Photo: VietnamPlus)

In his last event, the AFF Cup 2022, VFF hopes Park will guide the side to a strong result, marking a beautiful end to his time with the national team.

The VFF sent its best wishes to Park and his family and believes the two will remain close partnerships in the development of Vietnamese football.

Park first came to Vietnam in October 2017, renewing his contract with the VFF in 2019 and 2021.

In the five years under his leadership, Vietnam has reached historic milestones and become a well-respected team across Asia.

The U23s secured silver at the Asian Championship in 2018 in China before finishing fourth in the Asian Games in 2018 in Indonesia. They won the historic SEA Games title in 2019 in the Philippines and successfully defended it this May.

The national team won the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2018 and, as a result, advanced to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup in 2019. 

However, the most notable accolade in Park's time with Vietnam has to be reaching the last qualification round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Under Park, Vietnam have maintained their top position in ASEAN and set a record of spending the longest time in the world's top 100 for a Southeast Asian team.

Victories over Singapore and India in a friendly tournament last month helped Vietnam climb to No 96 with 1,226.65 in FIFA's world football ranking update.

In a speech on the day he signed his first contract with the VFF in 2017, Park promised to put Vietnam firmly in the world's top 100. To his credit, the team have now spent 1,419 days there since November 19, 2018. /.