Coach Park Hang-seo awarded lifetime tickets by Vietnam Airlines

Vietnam’s head football coach Park Hang-seo was presented by Vietnam Airlines with lifetime business-class tickets between South Korea and Vietnam in recognition of all the efforts, contributions, and victorious moments that Park made for the country.

Losing to Thailand by zero to one in the final second leg of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup held in Bangkok on Monday, Park and the national team flew back to Hanoi with Vietnam Airlines the next day. When the flight crew gave him a surprise present onboard, Park looked baffled at first. Not until they explained the meaning of the gift, did he start grinning from ear to ear.

Taking charge of Vietnam’s national football team in October 2017, he led the squad to the championship of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018, the first title ever won in 10 years. Afterwards, highly commended as one of the national heroes for the past five years and four months, Park made it possible for the nation to win two consecutive titles in the Southeast Asian Games, arrive in the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup, and advance to the final stage of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. With Park at the helm, his magic spell propelled Vietnam to 96th, up from 134th in the FIFA rankings.

Park closed a chapter in Vietnam following the Mitsubishi Cup. The Vietnam Football Federation plans to arrange a thank-you party, but any details have not yet been confirmed, reported Vietnamese state-run broadcasting station VTC. Park is scheduled to stay in Vietnam until March before returning to South Korea.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com