Coach Kim Sang-sik does not want to be held back by past failures
* Hello Coach Kim Sang-sik, compared to winning the AFF Cup 2024 7 months ago, how is winning the U.23 Southeast Asian Championship different?
Coach Kim Sang-sik: Before coming to Vietnam, I heard that people here love football so much that they watch Southeast Asian tournaments like the World Cup. The feeling of winning the championship in Vietnam is really wonderful. After only 7 months, we continued to win the Southeast Asian tournament, this time at the U.23 level. The attention and love of the fans for the Vietnam U.23 team made me extremely emotional.
Coach Kim Sang-sik has won two major titles this year with Vietnamese football.
PHOTO: VFF
The matches against Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand were all extremely fierce. They were really quality opponents. But now, the most important thing is that next to me and you, in this interview, is the championship trophy. It is a worthy reward for all the tireless efforts.
* Vietnamese football has won the AFF Cup and the U.23 Southeast Asia championship, but between these two journeys there was a lull, which was the 0-4 loss to Malaysia. Is that the motivation for you to put all your efforts into calling up the strongest squad to participate in this tournament? Because in the U.23 Vietnam squad participating in this tournament, 21/23 players are over 20 years old and have extensive international competition experience?
Coach Kim Sang-sik: The loss to Malaysia at the Vietnam national team level really made me sad and disappointed. But with the U.23 Vietnam team, we have started a new journey together. I don't want to be held back by past failures anymore. The important thing is to focus wholeheartedly on the U.23 team.
I feel very fortunate to have worked with a generation of talented young players with a good football background. For them, the most important thing is to build a united, cohesive team from the defense to the attack. And when that is created, together we have achieved worthy achievements.
Coach Kim Sang-sik: 'The door to the national team is wide open for U.23 players'
Many young players have long-term development potential
* U.23 Vietnam scored a lot of goals from set pieces. How did you train your players to do this?
Coach Kim Sang-sik: In modern football, set pieces appear with high frequency and play an increasingly important role. Statistics show that up to 29% of goals come from such plays. Therefore, my coaching staff and I have paid special attention to training set pieces and high balls. It is not only tall players who can score headers, but also tactical movement.
Together with the coaching staff, I have developed plans to stretch the opponent's defense, creating space for the players to exploit and take advantage of opportunities most effectively. In addition, I have also researched many tactical systems to serve the upcoming tournaments.
Coach Kim Sang-sik was interviewed by Thanh Nien Newspaper on the morning of July 31.
PHOTO: TUAN MINH
* Which player of U.23 Vietnam impressed you the most in the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asia journey?
Coach Kim Sang-sik : Besides the faces I have worked with at the national team level such as Van Khang, Dinh Bac, Van Truong or Trung Kien, this time I also have the opportunity to work with many new players such as Nhat Minh, Hieu Minh, Xuan Bac, Viktor Le, Cong Phuong, Anh Quan,... All of them show very good ability and long-term development potential.
Although some players lacked confidence in the first matches, through training, I always tried to motivate them and give them confidence. And it was the rapid growth of the whole team that contributed to the final result. That was the championship. With such talent, in the future these players will develop much more and can contribute to the national team.
The joy of U.23 Vietnam after Cong Phuong's goal
PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG
Korean strategist says national team door is open to young players
PHOTO: TUAN MINH
* Cong Phuong is one of the two rare players under 20 years old of U.23 Vietnam. Previously, this player was not called up to the national team many times in the past 6 months, but suddenly became a mainstay of U.23 Vietnam in this year's tournament. Can you explain why you used this player?
Coach Kim Sang-sik : Cong Phuong is one of the youngest players on the team, 2-3 years younger than his teammates. However, he has great potential and has shown good tactical ability, from breaking through in the penalty area, the ability to keep the ball, to his dynamic movement. It is these strengths that make me believe Cong Phuong will play well in the two most important matches: the semi-finals and the final. I understand that the pressure of those matches on a young player is very great, but he has completed the assigned task well.
Cong Phuong is very young and has a lot of potential.
PHOTO: Dong Nguyen Khang
I always believe that young players can develop in a short period of time if they play regularly. There are many examples in Korea. Young names are constantly reaching out to Europe. If Cong Phuong or Van Thuan are regularly playing in the V-League, I believe that the Vietnamese national team will be significantly stronger.
Viktor Le needs to make an effort to open the door to Tran Thanh Trung.
* Viktor Le was expected to shine at the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23, but his performance has not met expectations. Is this player not really suitable for the playing style and tactical system that you are building?
Coach Kim Sang-sik : Before joining the national team, Viktor Le had a fairly stable playing time in the V-League. Although Viktor did not play much in the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament and mainly came on as a substitute in the second half, he still fulfilled my requirements. Of course, in the upcoming tournaments, Viktor Le needs to improve his finishing, ball control and ball retention under pressure. Those are important factors if he wants to play at a high level.
I understand that Viktor Le is carrying invisible pressure from the title of “overseas Vietnamese player”. That sometimes prevents him from showing 100% of his ability. Therefore, I hope the media and fans will support and accompany him, instead of creating unnecessary pressure. Viktor is a player with potential, and if given the conditions, he will definitely go further.
Coach Kim Sang-sik said Le Viktor needs to relieve pressure.
PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG
There are language and communication barriers, but they are not too big of a problem for us. During training, the most important thing is that players must understand the tactical requirements. That is how to move, handle the ball and the specific role in each situation. When the training plan is clear, players only need to perform their role correctly in the general system. For overseas Vietnamese players, the door to the national team is always open. As long as they meet the professional requirements, they will have the opportunity to contribute to the national team as well as the youth teams.
* Recently, one of the most promising overseas Vietnamese players of Vietnamese football, Tran Thanh Trung (Do Nguyen Thanh Chung, Chung Do) has returned to play in the V-League. What do you know about this name?
Coach Kim Sang-sik: Regarding Thanh Trung, we have only watched him on video and have not had the opportunity to watch him play live. In the coming time, the coaching staff will continue to closely monitor him to have a more specific assessment. If he shows that he is capable and suitable for the team's direction, we are ready to give him a chance.
* Can you explain in detail the situation of the U.23 Vietnam coaching staff spinning the towel and arranging the water bottles right on the pitch in the final match of the U.23 Southeast Asia 2025? Because that neutralized Indonesia's skillful throw-in ability?
Tran Thanh Trung has just joined Ninh Binh Club.
PHOTO: NINH BINH CLUB
Coach Kim Sang-sik: To win, we had to prepare very carefully and do a lot of work behind the scenes. Before the match, the whole team agreed on tactics from pressing together, applying organized pressure to coordinating to win the ball back. Details like “spinning the towel” were part of the overall strategy that was carefully calculated. As for the water bottle appearing near the touchline during the match, it was completely random, not intended to hinder the opponent. We always uphold the spirit of fair-play in competition and respect all teams.
Coach Kim Sang-sik looks forward to the return of Xuan Son and Van Hau.
* What is your upcoming goal with U.23 Vietnam and the Vietnam national team?
Coach Kim Sang-sik: We have many important goals ahead of us, such as the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, the Asian Cup qualifiers and the 33rd SEA Games. In the immediate future, I will continue to focus on finding and giving opportunities to new faces in the Vietnam U23 team. Through that, I will build a solid foundation for future team levels.
As the 2025-2026 V-League and First Division seasons are about to kick off, this will be an important period for me to directly monitor, evaluate and discover more potential factors. In terms of expertise, my coaching staff and I will continue to perfect the training system, build new training programs and tactics to help the team develop more comprehensively.
Coach Kim Sang-sik looks forward to Xuan Son's return
PHOTO: VFF
* Xuan Son and Doan Van Hau will likely return to play at the end of 2025. In your opinion, if both return to the field, what contributions can they bring to the Vietnamese team?
Coach Kim Sang-sik: First of all, I am very happy to hear positive news about Van Hau and Xuan Son's recovery from injury. The national team's door is always open to these two players because they both have very good abilities and expertise.
* Thank you, Coach Kim Sang-sik, for the interview.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-cau-thu-u23-viet-nam-co-tiem-nang-phat-trien-dai-han-185250731181713381.htm
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