S. Korean coach in no hurry to sign extension with Vietnamese football team

Park Hang-seo, South Korean coach for the Vietnamese men's national football team, said Friday he's not in any rush to sign an extension with the Southeast Asian country.

The 60-year-old has worked magic with both the under-23 and senior men's national teams in Vietnam since taking the reins in October 2017, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship in January 2018 and a run to the semifinals at the 2018 Asian Games. Vietnam also won the 2018 Suzuki Cup title over Malaysia last December for their first regional championship in 10 years.

In this file photo from Feb. 12, 2019, Park Hang-seo, South Korean coach of the Vietnamese men's national football team, speaks at a corporate event in Seoul. (Yonhap)

His contract will be up in January 2020, and the two sides can negotiate an extension starting in October this year.

Park's agency and Vietnam Football Federation met for the first time Wednesday, and speculation has been running rampant about how much of a raise Park will receive.

Speaking to Yonhap News Agency on Friday, Park said it's too early to start talking about his salary.

"I don't know if signing an extension should be something I should get done quickly," he said. "We only discussed how the negotiations will go from here. One meeting will not be enough."

Park is currently making US$240,000 a year and Vietnamese media have said the figure could reach as high as $600,000 in the next deal.

That's all news to Park.

"I told my agent that it was too early to be talking about financial terms," Park said. "I don't think there's any need to overreact to these reports. If something important comes up during our negotiations, I'll disclose it through my agent."

As for coaching both the U-23 and senior teams, Park said he hasn't heard anything official from the federation on whether he will continue to juggle them.

"It's difficult to coach both teams, but it's also efficient in a way," he said. "But this doesn't present a problem in contract talks."

VNF ( Yonhap )