Coach Park has no intention of coaching in Vietnam or S. Korea next

On Oct. 14, Park made a statement that he would not continue to coach Vietnam’s national football team after his contract expires on Jan. 31 next year. He said he chose Oct. 14 because it marked his fifth year in Vietnam. Park had consulted his family before making his final decision.

“I think this is the best time to stop and reflect on everything because Vietnam’s national team have achieved great success and lived up to expectations. It’s time for a change,” Park said.

The 65-year-old coach also talked about his future plan.

“Many people are curious about this, but I didn’t prepare anything for the future. I only know football so it’s certain that I will continue in that direction. However, I haven’t decided on whether to continue being a coach or another role. Right now I’m focusing on my last competition with Vietnam, which is the 2022 AFF Cup.”

Park said that after the tournament ends, he can stay in Vietnam if he has a job that is not a football coach.

The same goes for South Korea. “There are many coaches doing a great job there. I don’t have any attention of working as a coach in South Korea despite there being several invitations.”

Park is also considering helping Vietnam with youth football if there’s an offer. But as of now, he is not in a hurry to decide his next career move.

“As I said, I haven’t made any decision. I might also coach another national team, except for Vietnam and South Korea. It will be a new challenge, a new start so I won’t cross out that possibility,” Park added.

Park became the head coach of Vietnam in late 2017. Since then, he has achieved continuous success with second place at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, 2018 AFF Cup title, a place in the quarterfinal of 2019 Asian Cup, two SEA Games gold medals in 2019 and 2021, and helped the team advance to the final qualifiers of World Cup for the first time in history.