Kim Sang-sik's Magic Surpasses Park Hang-seo's Era... Southeast Asia's First Back-to-Back World Cup Titles, Vietnam Football Writes New History

*This content was translated by AI.

The champion of the ASEAN Hyundai Cup, known as the "Southeast Asian World Cup," was Vietnam's team led by Kim Sang-sik for the second consecutive time. Following their victory in the 2024 tournament, this marks back-to-back titles and is a first in Vietnamese football history.

Under the guidance of coach Kim Sang-sik, Vietnam drew 2-2 with Thailand in the second leg of the tournament final held on the 26th (Korea time) at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Earlier, in the first leg of the away match, Vietnam achieved a historic 2-goal victory (2-0) over Thailand for the first time in history, and with an aggregate score of 4-2 across the two legs of the final, they claimed the championship title.

This is the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1996 that Vietnam has claimed "back-to-back titles" at this event, which is held every two years.

This tournament, which has garnered significant local attention akin to the Southeast Asian Cup, was previously known as the AFF Suzuki Cup or the Mitsubishi Electric Cup. Starting this year, Hyundai has taken on the role of title sponsor.

Vietnam, which claimed its third overall title at the 2024 tournament, has now retained the crown in this edition as the defending champion, solidifying its position as Southeast Asia's top team at present.

And at the center of Vietnam's new football history was undoubtedly Coach Kim Sang-sik's "magic."

Coach Kim Sang-sik, who took charge in 2024, led Vietnam to the ASEAN Cup title in his first year and successfully achieved a back-to-back championship.

Coach Kim is not only the first manager in Vietnamese football history to lead his team to back-to-back titles in this tournament but also the first to achieve two total championships and two consecutive finals appearances in the competition's history.

These are the great achievements that former coach Park Hang-seo, who successfully led Vietnamese football earlier, could not accomplish. During Coach Park Hang-seo's tenure, Vietnam secured fourth place in the 2020 tournament and runners-up in the 2022 tournament after winning the championship in the 2018 tournament.

Just as former coach Park Hang-seo rewrote Vietnam's football history anew, it is no exaggeration to say that Coach Kim Sang-sik has surpassed even the era of Park Hang-seo. In fact, under Kim Sang-sik, Vietnam has extended its unbeaten streak in A-matches to 26 consecutive games (22 wins and 4 draws), including this tournament's final.

Coach Kim Sang-sik is not only leading the A national team but also guiding the under-23 (U23) national team, orchestrating successes for Vietnamese football in both the A squad and the U23 squad, including winning the AFF U23 Championship and the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in December last year.

Immediately after the championship, Coach Kim Sang-sik carried a large Vietnamese national flag and ran around the field with his players, while Vietnamese fans also gave him a warm round of applause as the "Vietnamese football hero." After completing the championship trophy ceremony, he was even hoisted up by his players in a traditional cheer.

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*This content was translated by AI.