It is not well known that Vietnamese football legend Park Hang-seo, former head coach of the Vietnam national football team, is not from the soccer club.
He was an ordinary student who played soccer on the street until middle school. (It is said that his soccer skills were very good.)
He went to Seoul to study abroad and entered Gyeongshin High School, where he saw the soccer team members playing soccer (Cha Beom-geun is the right one). He is from Gyeongshin High School)
Falling in love with this appearance, coach Park decides to play soccer. However, at the time, he was 166 cm tall and had a small physique, so it was close to impossible for him to play soccer among prominent soccer members.
At the end of twists and turns, he entered the soccer team through an acquaintance’s chance and soon took the lead position. And he goes through Hanyang University and succeeds in joining an unemployment team where he can live by soccer.
Besides, he also plays for the national football team, although he only played in one match. There are opinions that disparage Park Hang-seo as a player, but considering that he started a full-fledged elite player career from high school, he may have been a genius with amazing talent.
However, since he was young, he had no opportunity to improve his soccer skills step by step, so he could not mount a flashy individual skill, so his days as a player are often talked about with the words ‘fighting spirit’ and ‘guts’. However, he was such an outstanding player that he led the team to the league championship in 1985 and climbed to the league’s best eleven.
Coach Park always regrets whenever he looks back on his playing days. He has no regrets about starting football late.
This is why he always said something similar when he coached the Vietnamese national soccer team. He often regretted that Vietnamese players did not have the opportunity to solidify from the basics.
He finally turned his dream into reality. He created a youth soccer class after Cha Bum-geun, a senior at Gyeongsin High School. The only difference is that the venue is Vietnam, not Korea, but the big picture that allows children with a passion for soccer to experience a systematic program is the same.
In a recent interview in this regard, former coach Park said, “I am happy to establish a soccer class to lead Vietnamese youth soccer to a higher level.”
This soccer class will be held in Cau Giay, Hanoi. We plan to select elementary school students and provide them with systematic training. A large number of experienced Korean coaches will enter the training facility. Park Hang-seo stepped forward to lay the foundation for Vietnamese soccer to compete on the world stage.
It’s been several months since former head coach Park laid down the baton of the Vietnamese soccer team, but there is still an atmosphere of missing him in Vietnam. It is a personal liking for former coach Park, and nostalgia for Vietnamese football, which was in its heyday during his tenure.
During Park’s presidency, Vietnam became the first Southeast Asian country to qualify for the World Cup after Thailand. He has won several championships in Southeast Asian competitions and entered the top 100 in the world rankings.
Unfortunately, Vietnam has not been able to achieve this level since coach Philippe Troussier took over the helm. Even now, if you watch news related to football in Vietnam, you can easily find comments mentioning Park Hang-seo.
In the meantime, former coach Park opened a youth soccer class in Vietnam, so maybe the nostalgia for him will grow.
I will briefly add the story of Cha Bum-geun’s soccer class. Established in 1988, the Cha Bum-geun Soccer Class played a significant role in nurturing prominent soccer players including Jeong Jo-guk. However, actors Lee Min-ho, Kwon Yul, and musician Dindin contributed greatly to expanding the base of Korea’s soccer infrastructure as they were from Cha Bum-geun’s soccer class. And they don’t hesitate to bring up their childhood memories, saying, “I am from Cha Bum-geun’s soccer class.” As such, the Cha Bum-geun soccer class has established itself as an intangible social infrastructure by establishing an invisible network.
When the Park Hang-seo soccer class takes place, there may be many Vietnamese entrepreneurs, politicians, actors and singers from Park Hang-seo class. If they build ties and networks under the name Park Hang-seo, it will greatly contribute to creating synergy between Korea and Vietnam.스포츠토토
Manager Park Hang-seo left Vietnam, but soccer player Park Hang-seo did not leave Vietnam. Park Hang-seo went beyond the realm of football and established himself as something irreplaceable that unites Korea and Vietnam.