Vietnam national football team coach Park Hang-seo has been named “Person of the Year” by the country’s state-run TV broadcaster.
The annual honor goes to the individual who has made the greatest achievement each year. In a highly unusual choice, all-news channel VTV1 owned by Vietnam Television awarded Park the honor this year. The channel is producing a program on him to be aired on Jan. 1 next year.
Park took the helm of the Vietnamese team in October, 2017 and just three months later in January this year he led the team to the final of the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championship, which resulted in a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in overtime to Uzbekistan. It was the first time that Vietnam had gotten to the podium at an AFC-hosted tournament. For his efforts, he received a commendation from the Vietnamese government.
At the Asian Games in Indonesia in August, Vietnam finished fourth after making the semifinals for the first time. Just last week the team claimed the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup, Southeast Asia’s top football tournament, for the first time in 10 years. It also had a 16-game unbeaten strike in international matches this year, besting World Cup champion France’s 15-match streak.
With all the achievements, Park is now considered the greatest coach in the history of Vietnamese football and his fame is likely to continue to soar.
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