 From right to left: Coach Park Hang Seo, goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, defender Que Ngoc Hai, and midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai at the AFF awards 2019. |
Park's current contract runs out in January. The newly signed 3-year contract will begin on February 1, 2020. Although the salary and benefits haven’t been revealed, local and foreign media presume that Park’s salary will be about 50,000 USD a month, which is 2.5 times higher than what he makes currently. With the new contract, Coach Park will hold the highest salary in Vietnamese football.
Tran Quoc Tuan, Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation said the contract will be resigned after three years in principle. But after two years both sides can re-negotiate it if necessary.
“We have discussed some technical issues and the future of Vietnam’s football. We signed the contract and mapped out detailed tasks and solutions. We hope Vietnam’s dream to enter World Cup will come true.” Tuan said.
Coach Park Hang Seo has been leading the Vietnamese men’s national football team since October, 2017. Over the years, the Vietnamese national football team entered the quarterfinals of the 2019 Asian Cup, and the semifinals of the 2018 Asian Games, and won the 2018 AFF Championship. The Vietnamese team won against strong Asian football teams, including Thailand.
Minh Hai, a sport reporter, said: “Coach Park deserves a high salary for his contributions to Vietnamese football. The footballers are inspired when they know Mr. Park will continue to be their coach. He is the symbol of victory and the aspiration to conquer higher goals.”
Coach Park Hang-seo and midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai were named the AFF Coach of the Year and Player of the Year in the men’s category. The AFF awards, which are held every two years, used to be dominated by Thai and Singaporean athletes. Mr. Park said: “It’s not me who is creating the breakthrough for Vietnamese football. Vietnamese football has unique potential. Previous coaches built a foundation. I have effectively taken advantage of that and tried to realize Vietnamese football’s potential. The success is attributed to rigorous training and practicing, and cultivating talented athletes.”
The Vietnamese football team has worked with many foreign coaches. Park has been the most successful coach so far.