The head coach for Vietnam’s national football team has announced his retirement recently after a five-year stint. Leaving after his contract expires on Jan 31st of 2023, Park Hang-Seo announced he will return to his home country of South Korea for a short break. During his tenure, Park was responsible for a new level of success for Vietnamese football, and he might not be finished yet.
New Things for Park
Under Park’s leadership, Vietnam has continued to expand its placement in regional and international performance. This includes a second place at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship and winning two gold medals in the SEA Games. His dedication even brought Vietnam to the finals of the World Cup qualifiers, an unprecedented feat in Vietnamese football history. While rumors persist about his next potential placement, one possibility includes establishing a youth football center in Vietnam, to help train the next generation of players, according to VNExpress.
An Expansion for Vietnamese Football
Vietnam might not be one of the biggest countries in the world when you think of football, but that doesn’t mean the game is underappreciated within its borders. In fact, football is the most popular sport in the country. This doesn’t just refer to play either, as football culture in Vietnam has also extended to Đi bão, called street storming in English. Such a spontaneous celebration of football success mirrors those seen in Europe, but as noted by Danang Leisure, it’s more of a positive affair that eschews hooliganism.
Recent success on the international level doesn’t just apply to the traditional either, as more contemporary technological developments are also getting in on the action. 188BET Vietnam, for example, has added the potential to place mobile bets on Vietnamese football performance in both larger and smaller matches. Offering both tips and bets, the involvement of these systems can help consolidate Vietnamese football fame, and expose the area to a new audience.
While a natural evolution, greater visibility of Vietnamese football in the online space within major industries is more beneficial than it might at first seem. Guides to upcoming matches for a wide variety of games and being mentioned in the same place as the upcoming Qatar World Cup can add significant foreign attention. As attention can manifest as greater involvement and investment, these components outside the main football industry can be more valuable than the sum of their parts.
What Comes Next?
Thanks to forward-thinkers like Park raising the bar on what is already Vietnam’s favorite pastime, the future of football in the nation is looking brighter than ever. Already one of the best in SEA, Vietnam continues to improve, impress, and set its sights ever higher. At this point, we wouldn’t be surprised to see its inclusion past the qualifiers in the next couple of world cups.
Perhaps just as important are the lessons that Vietnam has to teach the rest of the world about an appreciation of the beautiful game. By embracing the best qualities, Vietnam helps set a standard that we can’t help but wish more football enthusiasts would follow. Enjoyment and positivity are key for growing the sport to even greater heights, and in that, Vietnam might be second to none.
