Indonesia media criticize Vietnam coach for alleged unusual press conference

According to CNN Indonesia, Park’s press conference only lasted eight minutes. They said further that Indonesia’s Coach Shin Tae-yong and Coach Park didn’t shake hands during the press conference.

“In four group stage games, Coach Shin shook hands with the coaches of Cambodia, Brunei, Thailand and the Philippines,” CNN Indonesia reported. “However, that didn’t happen with Park.”

The Indonesian newspaper also said that Park’s behavior was “unusual,” as he was not happy when he saw four South Korean reporters present in the conference room.

“Right after answering one question, Park left the room,” the newspaper added. “After that, Shin joined the press conference and answered many questions about the match.”

Tempo Newspaper accused Park of “making noise in the press conference room,” and of “stopping the press conference after talking very little about Vietnam’s preparation.”

“For no reason, he stopped talking when he saw two South Korean reporters in the room, and asked who they were,” Tempo wrote. “He looked annoyed, probably because he saw that these reporters were wearing shirts with the Indonesia national team logo.”

Sports newspaper Libero published a headline saying “Park was grumpy during the press conference and only answered one question.” The newspaper said further that Park reacted that way because the South Korean reporters were speaking too loudly when he was listening to a question from another journalist.

Following that, the AFF coordinator asked if anyone else had any questions. When no one raised their hand, he ended the press conference and Park and striker Pham Tuan Hai exited the room, according to Libero.

In fact, Park’s press conference began at 12:30 p.m. (Hanoi time) while Shin started at 1 p.m. Coordinator Abdul Rahman stopped the press conference after about 10 minutes, and then Park left. The Vietnamese head coach didn’t meet Shin at the press conference and so he couldn’t have shaken hands with him. The criticism that Indonesian newspapers aimed at Park seems to be an attempt to land a psychological blow before the game.

Shin is 13 years younger than Park, but these two coaches have faced each other many times when Vietnam and Indonesia played against each other in the past. Since Shin became Indonesia’s head coach, he has never won against Park. They didn’t shake hands after Vietnam beat Indonesia 3-0 in the group stage of SEA Games 31 at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho Province in northern Vietnam on May 6, 2022.

The match between Vietnam and Indonesia on Friday afternoon at Bung Karno Stadium will kick off at 4:30 p.m. (Hanoi time) and will be carried live on VnExpress International.