Head coaches Park Hang-seo and Kim Pan Gon are confident about the preparation before the important match in Group B
Tomorrow evening (December 27) at 19:30 at My Dinh National Stadium, there will be a match between Vietnam and Malaysia in the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022. This is a very important match for both teams in the race of Group B and both head coaches showed confidence in their preparation.
26/12/2022 17:03:16
“Head coach Kim Pan Gon said that he wants to win Vietnam, I think it is a normal thinking. That is the duty and desire of the coach. As a coach, everyone wants to win, so do I. I think we should focus on preparation. The whole team must play well. We have finished analyzing the Malaysia team. Plan is given to help players get used to the tactics to prepare for the best match,” coach Park Hang Seo opened the pre-match press conference this morning at the headquarters of the VFF.
Talking about the encounter with his compatriot Kim Pan Gon on the Malaysia side, Mr. Park said: “It is not polite to evaluate our team from the past to now. As Korean, I know coach Kim. I’m not really clear about his philosophy. Mr. Kim is from the same hometown as me. When he was playing, I was the coach. He went to Hong Kong to play football and also worked as a coach there. After that, he returned to Korea to work as an assistant for a professional coach.
His time is mainly in Hong Kong, so English is good. After that, he returned to work as the Technical Director of the Korean Football Association. Their role is different from that of Vietnam. This is an important role, selecting coaches… He has done quite important work. In Hong Kong, Mr. Kim is a good and successful coach.”
At AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022, Malaysia lacks many key players. Answering a question from a Malaysian reporter about this, Mr. Park emphasized: “The concept of a key player, I think everyone has a different view. Sometimes people see a player as key, but I don’t think so. The current Malaysian squad I think are the best”.
“Looking at Malaysia’s lineup over two matches, if we don’t pay attention, we won’t know which team is the main lineup. In the match against Laos, they changed up to 8 players, maybe their coach meant to keep people. But it is unknown, maybe there are players who play well in the match against Laos who will be given the opportunity,” coach Park said.
When asked about the new naturalise players of the Malaysian team, Mr. Park said: “Each country has different policies and cultures. I do not support or oppose the mass naturalization of Malaysia. Malaysia has a lot of exchanges with Australia and the UK. For example, a foreign player of Malaysian origin, when he plays for the national team, whether he understands the minds of the people or not, that is their business. Their naturalized players, I researched them all. Sergio Aguero, Lee Tuck are all outstanding.”
Evaluating more about the Malaysian team, head coach Park Hang Seo said: “After Coach Kim arrived, their play style was much different, the players’ spirit was very high. Regarding their 3-4-3 formation, I think to talk about the suitability, there are many factors, Mr. Kim must have researched a lot and chose the right way to play. Through 2 matches, I saw the Malaysia players did very quickly, the dispute was fierce, the two wings were high. When passing, they often face the goal directly,” Mr. Park emphasized.
Head coach Park Hang Seo is considered the “evil” of Malaysia. Since Mr. Park led, Vietnam only drew and won against this opponent. “For the past five years, since I was in charge of U23 and the team, I have been fortunate enough not to lose to Malaysia. The records are unknown. I just know I will do my best. My job is to instill that spirit in the players, play with all their best. The confrontation ratio is for reference only,” emphasized Coach Park.
Meanwhile, midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc shared: “After 2 matches watching Malaysia play, I see that their play style under the guidance of coach Kim is different than before. They play long balls, attack fast, different from last year’s AFF Cup a lot.”
Head coach Kim Pan Gon (Malaysia team):
“Vietnam is one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia. But they also have strengths and weaknesses. I have the details. But I only share with my players and coaching staff, it is not convenient to say it here.”
“Vietnam has been playing too well lately. They are also experienced and have just gone through big matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. However, we are not afraid of anything. Malaysia is confident and will play a strong game.”
“At the moment, we are only focused on helping the players recover. The weather in Hanoi is significantly colder than in Kuala Lumpur, but I don’t think it affects the match much. Malaysia is very confident, and ready to play tomorrow.”
“I remember that I used to play against coach Park’s club when I was in Korea. We also met a lot. In Korea, he is senior than me and is a respectable person. I respect him a lot, so I’ll do my best in tomorrow’s game. I want Malaysia to win to qualify the semi-finals.”
Striker Faisal Halim:
“For many player in the team, this is their first match facing Vietnam. Of course I will try to keep scoring for the team. We are here to win. It doesn’t matter if I score or not. The Vietnamese players are all good, but we won’t be afraid.”
The match between Vietnam Team and Malaysia Team will take place at 19:30 tomorrow evening (December 27). Vietnam Team will play in the red – red – red. The Malaysian away team went to the field in a yellow – black – yellow.
The match will be lived on VTV5, VTV Can Tho and FPT Play.
