“I love my motherland and expect the best things for the Republic of Korea (RoK), but as the coach of Vietnam’s Olympic team at present, it is my obligation to wholeheartedly prepare Vietnam for the upcoming semifinal,” said Vietnam coach Park Hang-seo during a press briefing after the 2018 Aisan Games (Asiad) quarterfinal clash against Syria on August 27 evening.

Vietnam coach Park Hang-seo celebrates with assistants after Van Toan scores the decisive goal of the match. (Photo: vnexpress.net)

Vietnam beat Syria 1-0 in a thrilling encounter on Monday night thanks to Van Toan’s extra-time strike, to set up a semifinal with the RoK’s Olympic team, the reigning Asiand men’s football gold medalists and the homeland team of Park Hang-seo.

However, the Sancheong-born tactician affirmed that he would not let the heart that goes to the fatherland overpower his mind.

“Vietnam and the RoK only have one day off, so both will face difficulty in attaining full recovery. But I and my assistants will try to help Vietnamese players reach a good mood in terms of physical fitness and psychology for the semifinal, in addition to analysing our opponents,” he said.

Talking about the performance of Vietnamese players, Park did not hide his satisfaction: “We have made a stride today. I am proud of my players and happy to work in Vietnam.”

The August 27 quarterfinal was the fifth match in a row that Vietnam had kept a clean sheet since the beginning of the tournament. Park again showed his human art to use with strategic substitutions to help Vietnam qualify for the Asiad semifinal for the first time in history.

The 59-year-old coach pledged the whole team’s utmost efforts in the upcomign semifinal to repeat the feat of making the final match as what they did at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship in China at the beginning of the year.

Sharing about his colleague on the RoK side, Kim Hak-bum, Park said: “We are close friends. Kim is a qualified trainer with tactic proficiency, and was once nicknamed ‘Alex Ferguson in K-League’. We have confronted several times in K-League. Both of us will try, together with the players, to make an eyecatching and exciting semifinal match.”

The semifinal clash between Vietnam and the RoK will take place Pakansari Stadium in Pakansari, Cibinong, West Java, Indonesia at 4pm on August 29.

Nhan Dan