Coach Park among candidates to manage Malaysia national team: football chief

"Yes," Hamidin Amin replied when asked by Malaysian media if Park was on the list of candidates for the head coach position of the national team at a press conference on Thursday. Amin said the former Vietnam national coach applied for the position himself.

Malaysia lost its head coach in mid-July, when Kim Pan-gon quit for "personal reasons" despite still having 1.5 years left on his contract. After Kim reached an agreement to terminate his contract early, the 55-year-old coach returned to his country and immediately became the manager of South Korean club Ulsan Hyundai, angering many Malaysian fans.

Malaysia later appointed Paul Marti Vicente as interim coach.

Earlier this year, Amin publicly said that he would not choose Park to lead the national team because he was concerned about the South Korean coach's short temper.

"Other FAM members liked him, but I didn't," he told Malaysian TV channel Astro Arena on Jan. 7. "There was a moment when he was too provocative and that crossed a line for me."

He was referring to a 2022 World Cup second qualifying round match in June 2021 in the UAE in which Vietnam beat Malaysia 2-1. At the end of the match Park became furious when he saw Liridon Krasniqi commit a dangerous foul on Nguyen Phong Hong Duy right next to the Vietnamese technical area.

The 66-year-old coach received a yellow card for his furious reaction. He was then provoked by Malaysian fans and players, and he put an index finger on his lips, signaling them to stay silent.

Park is known for his astounding achievements with Vietnamese football from 2017 to 2023, including second place in the U23 Asian Cup, the 2018 AFF Cup title, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2019 Asian Cup, entering the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup for the first time and winning gold medals at two SEA Games. In addition, Park also helped Vietnam maintain a position in the top 100 of FIFA world ranking and top Southeast Asia during his tenure.

Park has not coached another team since he left Vietnam national football team in January 2023. He has been linked to coaching jobs in India, Southeast Asian countries, Vietnamese clubs and even as an interim manager of South Korea. However, the only job that Park has taken up so far is being an advisor for Bac Ninh FC in the second division of Vietnamese football.