Coach Kim Sang-sik likes MU thanks to… Park Ji-sung
Interview with Newspaper AdolescentOn the morning of January 9, at his home, coach Kim Sang-sik revealed many interesting stories related to personal interests.
The Korean military leader revealed that he is a fan of MU – the most successful football team in England. But, Mr. Kim’s relationship with MU was also accidental. “I like MU, because my brother Park Ji-sung, whom I love very much, used to play for this team,” coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed.
Coach Kim Sang-sik
Mr. Kim has a special friendship with Park Ji-sung, as they both played in the K-League and played for the Korean team. In the 2022 season, Park Ji-sung was appointed technical director of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Club, where Mr. Kim is the head coach. However, both were unable to help Jeonbuk succeed. In the 2023 season, coach Kim Sang-sik leaves the hot seat, while Park Ji-sung remains to lead the former K-League king team.
The star that coach Kim Sang-sik likes the most is Zinedine Zidane. As for his coaching model, Mr. Kim chose Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary coach of the “Red Devils”.
Before coming to Vietnam, coach Kim Sang-sik had a glorious career as a player, winning the K-League and AFC Champions League with Jeonbuk. After retiring, he served as an assistant, then became head coach in the 2021 season. Mr. Kim was described by Korean media as a “winning expert”. After only 7 months of coaching the Vietnamese team, coach Kim Sang-sik also successfully conquered the AFF Cup 2024.
However, Mr. Kim does not consider this his own success. “First of all, I want to send my sincere thanks to VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan and the leaders of agencies and departments for creating conditions for me to be here and supporting me a lot to complete my tasks in the team. Vietnam.
I also thank the logistics departments for helping the team with things like booking airline tickets and arranging hotels and accommodation. I am always grateful for what they have done for me and the Vietnamese team. The Vietnamese team’s mission is to play well on the field, but outside, there have been silent contributions from VFF. They have put in a lot of effort to win this championship.”
A reporter from Thanh Nien Newspaper gave a gift to Mr. Kim
3 words to describe yourself are…
Newspaper Adolescent asked coach Kim Sang-sik: “If you could describe yourself in 3 words, what words would you choose?”.
Mr. Kim replied: “First is ‘tiger’. I want to be a scary coach to be strict with the players. Second is ‘transformation’, always changing myself for the better. Third is ‘confidence’ ‘, after a successful tournament, I have more confidence to help Vietnamese football become even better.”
Coach Kim Sang-sik also admitted being under pressure from the resounding success of his predecessor Park Hang-seo. “It’s too difficult to be as successful as Mr. Park in Vietnamese football,” Mr. Kim emphasized. “But I will try. I hope the fans will love and support me like they did with Mr. Park.”
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh encouraged coach Kim Sang-sik
Besides wanting to bring his family to Vietnam to celebrate Tet, Mr. Kim wants to spend the next few days resting and regenerating energy. “I miss home, sometimes lonely, luckily I also have Korean friends here to accompany me,” coach Kim Sang-sik expressed. “Vietnamese people’s love for football has given me more motivation.”
Coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed that he will diligently go to the field to find new players and that the 2024 AFF Cup will only be the beginning of the journey he will go through with his students.
