Cambodia wants Park Hang-seo as head football coach

According to DJ Management, the company that represents Park, the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC) has expressed interest in the 66-year-old coach.

“In addition to Cambodia, we received many offers like with India,” DJ Management told Yonhap News. “We haven’t decided yet and we are still considering.”

FFC wants to recruit Park before the 2024 AFF Cup (now ASEAN Cup) kicks off in November.

Coach Park Hang-seo leads Vietnam at the 2022 AFF Cup. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong

Cambodia are one of the weaker teams in Southeast Asia, placing 180th on the FIFA rankings.

The team have appointed South Korean coaches in the past such as Yoo Kee-heung (2007-2008) and Lee Tae-hoon (2013-2017). The most famous name to ever coach Cambodia is Japanese football legend Keisuke Honda, from August 2018 to January 2023.

The best achievement of Cambodian football was the U23 team reaching the semifinals of SEA Games 30 in the Philippines. Their national team have never passed the AFF Cup group stage.

In 2024, Cambodia celebrates the 10th anniversary of its national football training center, to improve the quality of players, as part of a program to promote youth football development.

The project has a vision to 2038 and FFC wants to recruit a reputable coach to help the team achieve good results at the SEA Games and AFF Cup, and go far in the 2038 World Cup qualifiers.

Previously, Park was announced by Times of India as one of 291 coaches who had applied for the head coach position of the Indian national football team. However, the South Korean coach said he had never submitted an application, although considered India a potential destination.

Park bid farewell to Vietnam national team after his contract expired in January 2023, and announced that he would not return.

Recently, Park has not accepted any coaching job, although he is often linked with teams in the region such as Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand.

He was on the list of candidates to be the interim coach of South Korea, after coach Jurgen Klinsmann was sacked following the failure at the 2023 Asian Cup. But in the end, Hwang Sun-hong was chosen.

Currently, Park works at the Football Academy in Vietnam and is also an advisor for Bac Ninh FC.

Park worked as an assistant to legendary coach Guus Hiddink in the Korean team that reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. But he is more famous thanks to his achievements with Vietnamese football in 2017-2023, including second place in Asia U23, winning the AFF Cup in 2018, reaching the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, and winning gold medals at SEA Games 30 and 31.

Vietnam maintained their position in the top FIFA 100 and led Southeast Asia during Park’s time.