By Hahm Hee-eun 

Known as “Vietnam’s Soccer Hero,” the Vietnamese national men's soccer team head coach Park Hang-seo, who is a former Korean men's national soccer team manager and player, brought the players to Korea on Oct. 17. 

The coach and team arrived at Incheon International Airport to prepare for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship 2018, which starts Nov. 8. 

The AFF Championship is a biennial international football competition that is contested by the national teams of Southeast Asia since 1996. Vietnam owns a record of winning the championship in 2008. This year, Vietnam is in Group A with Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, and it is aiming for its second championship in ten years.

Coach Park Hang-seo and the Vietnamese team, who have chosen Korea as their training venue for the AFF Championship, received full support from the Korean Football Association (KFA). During their stay in Korea, they will be training at the Paju National Training Center, the exclusive training facility for the Korean national soccer team. They will also have practice matches with K-League Incheon United, FC Seoul, and Seoul E-Land FC teams. 

Throughout 2018, the Vietnamese national soccer team has achieved remarkable records with coach Park Hang-seo. They won second place in the AFC U-23 Championship in January, and made it to the semi-finals at the Asian Games in August, the best records in the history of Vietnamese football. The people and media in and out of Vietnam are paying close attention to whether they will be able to continue their record-breaking achievements. 


hehahm@korea.kr