Vietnam head coach Park Hang-seo has received a meaningful gift from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc shortly prior to returning to his Republic of Korea homeland to join his family for the Lunar New Year festival.

The leaders of the sports sector present PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc's gift to Vietnam head coach Park Hang-seo. (Photo: VOV)

On the afternoon of January 28, leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) had a meeting with Park in Hanoi to present PM Phuc’s gift to the 60-year-old tactician ahead of his arriving home on the new year holiday.

In a warm and intimate atmosphere, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Ngoc Thien, VFF President Le Khanh Hai, and Director of the General Department Vuong Bich Thang congratulated Park on having brilliantly fulfilled his assigned tasks.

Accordingly, the RoK coach led Vietnam U23s to the runner-up finish at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, guided Vietnam’s Olympic team through to the 2018 Asian Games semifinals, and joined Vietnam’s national squad to win the 2018 AFF Cup trophy and make the last eight at the 2019 Asian Cup, thus writing new glorious pages in the history of Vietnamese football.

On behalf of the ministry, the General Department and the VFF, Minister Thien thanked and highly appreciated head coach Park’s significant contributions to the positive results of Vietnamese football in the regional and continental arenas over recent times.

The amazing feats attained by Park and his players have gone beyond the scope of a mere sport, becoming a source of inspiration for society and a national pride, while spreading common joys and connecting tens of millions of Vietnamese hearts, he said.

The leaders of the sports sector expressed their belief that with his professionalism and wholeheartedness in work, as well as his deep sentiment for Vietnamese football, Park Hang-seo will continue coaching the Vietnamese squads to conquer new challenges and successes in 2019, especially at the qualification tournaments for the 2022 World Cup, the 2020 AFC U23 Championship and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, as well as at the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Nhan Dan