Coach Park's appearance at V. League game sparks curiosity

Coach Park sat in the VIP stand of Hang Day Stadium with a man from his representative company, DJ Management, during the V. League match between CAHN and Binh Duong on Tuesday.

Before the game started, two assistants of Philippe Troussier, the current Vietnam national coach, Moulay Lahsen and Hatem Souissi, came to greet him.

This was the first V-League fixture that coach Park had come to watch since leaving the Vietnam national team in January 2023. He went to the stadium to watch the friendly match between Korea and Vietnam in Seoul on Oct. 17, and a match of Hanoi FC in the AFC Champions League in September.

Coach Park's appearance sparked speculations of him joining a V-League team. Previously, Ho Chi Minh City FC was believed to have reached a preliminary agreement with the former Vietnam coach. However, his representative denied any contacts between him and the club.

Park's attendance left people even more curious amid reports of coach Gong Oh-kyun’s imminent dismissal from CAHN. The club from the capital are said to have approached former Thailand coach Mano Polking to replace Gong after four consecutive losses at V. League, but nothing has been announced by the reigning V-League champion.

Technical director Tran Tien Dai was the caretaker manager for CAHN in the Binh Duong match, where Hanoi earned a 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Junior Fialho, Nguyen Quang Hai and Ho Tan Tai. However Dai received a red card in the 74th minute following his overreaction to the referee.

He is facing disciplinary action from Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) for intentionally remaining on the field to instruct his players even after receiving the red card.