Coach Park to leave Vietnam national football team after AFF Cup

Head coach Park Hang-seo, who brought significant success to Vietnamese football in recent years, has decided to leave after his contract expires on Jan. 31 next year.

This means the 2022 AFF Cup in December will be Park's last tournament as head coach of the Vietnam national football team.

"I will always remember my five-year journey with Vietnamese football. It was a memorable and exciting journey," Park said in a statement released by Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Monday.

The South Korean coach said he understands the love and support that he got during his stint in Vietnam and promised to keep working hard in future.

"Once again, I'm grateful for the all love that Vietnam has given me," he added.

VFF said that this decision came from a mutual understanding and the desire for a prosperous future for both parties. The federation affirmed that Park will still maintain a close partnership to develop Vietnamese football.

Park became the head coach of Vietnam in late 2017. Since then, he has achieved continuous success with the 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.

Under Park’s management, Vietnam also became the top football nation in Southeast Asia and maintained a place in the top 100 FIFA world ranking.

Park has extended his contract with VFF twice. The first time was in 2019 when he decided to sign for two more years and the second time in 2021 for another year. In September and October this year, VFF and Park’s agent worked together to reach the final decision.

The 2022 AFF Cup is set to take place from Dec. 23, 2022 to Jan. 15, 2023. Vietnam are in group B with Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar and Laos. Each team will play four group-stage games, including two home and two away. Vietnam will play at home against Malaysia and Myanmar and away against Laos and Singapore.