Kim Sang-sik, who led Vietnam to the Mitsubishi Cup, stands tall as the 'second Park Hang-seo'
Kim Sang-sik, who led Vietnam to the Mitsubishi Cup, stands tall as the 'second Park Hang-seo'
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Head coach Kim Sang-sik put Vietnam at the top of Southeast Asian soccer following former head coach Park Hang-seo.
Vietnam, led by head coach Kim Sang-sik, beat Thailand 3-2 in the second round of the 2024 ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup (hereinafter referred to as the Mitsubishi Cup) final at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on the 5th.
Vietnam, which won the first leg of the final 2-1 at home on the 2nd, beat Thailand with a 5-3 aggregate score to win the tournament.
It is the third time Vietnam has won the Mitsubishi Cup, called the "World Cup of Southeast Asia," and has returned to the top in six years since the 2018 tournament led by former coach Park Hang-seo.
Vietnam left the baton to French coach Philippe Truscier after Park Hang-seo, who led the national team for five and a half years from 2017 to 2023, stepped down, but the result was disastrous.
Vietnam, which fell back to its position before coach Park Hang-seo, replaced coach Truscier and quickly entrusted the team to head coach Kim Sang-sik in June last year.
Coach Kim Sang-sik also received a lot of criticism as he had no win (one draw and three losses) in four consecutive matches after winning his debut match for the Vietnamese national team. Negative forecast continued that he will be dismissed early if he fails to show good performance at this year's Mitsubishi Cup.
However, Kim Sang-sik wrote an unexpected drama at the Mitsubishi Cup. He clearly planted his style in the Vietnamese national team based on strong defense and fast counterattack. Vietnamese players also integrated well with Kim's soccer.
As a result, Vietnam continued its unbeaten streak without losing a single game in eight matches from the group stage. In particular, Kim Sang-sik was able to play strong counterattack soccer thanks to the presence of Nguyen Xuan Xuan Xuan, a naturalized striker from Brazil.
Coach Kim Sang-sik said, "Before coming to Vietnam, we were not in a good situation. Manager Kim Sang-sik, who was recognized as a K-League legend as a player, led Jeonbuk Hyundai to win the K-League title in 2021, the season when the coach made his debut. He also won the FA Cup (currently the Korea Cup) in 2022.
However, as Kim was sacked due to poor performance in May 2023, he suffered severe damage to his leadership career. He had to remain a wild man for about a year. He continued to study soccer in Europe and other places, but rarely had an opportunity to make a comeback as a coach.
Then, he took over the Vietnamese national team and this became a great move for Kim Sang-sik. This is also similar to coach Park Hang-seo, who almost was forgotten in Korean soccer but succeeded in turning his life around in Vietnam.
Coach Kim Sang-sik is expected to further increase his position in Vietnam with this victory. He will certainly receive full support for leading the national team in the future.
Kim Sang-sik's next goal after winning the Mitsubishi Cup, his first big stage since taking the helm, is to qualify for the Asian Cup. The Asian Cup was held along with the preliminary round of the 2026 North-China World Cup. Teams that advanced to the third preliminary round of the World Cup will also receive a ticket to directly advance to the finals of the Asian Cup.
On the other hand, teams that failed to qualify for the second round of the World Cup, such as Vietnam, have to play in the third round of the Asian Cup. Vietnam will compete with Laos, Malaysia and Nepal for the Asian Cup finals starting in March. 스포츠토토
The Southeast Asian Games, which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand in December this year, are also expected to be an important stage for Kim Sang-sik.