All about Coach Gong Oh-kyun, the new teacher of U23 Vietnam

At 11 pm on May 24, U23 Vietnam will move to Ho Chi Minh City before having a short training session in the UAE, then to Uzbekistan on May 29 to get ready for the U23 Asian Cup finals. The fast-paced football life has brought the boys in red into a new conquest, not long after winning the gold medal at the 31st SEA Games.

In Uzbekistan we will see familiar names, but also many new faces. However, the strangest thing lies in the technical area. Coach Park Hang-seo will no longer be there. He was replaced by coach Gong Oh-kyun. So what do you know the new coach of U23 Vietnam? Can Gong Oh-kyun continue the success of his predecessor?

Unlike coach Park Hang-seo, Gong Oh-kyun has a richer playing career. Since attending Bupyeong High School, then Kwandong University, Gong has been known as a brilliant striker. Thanks to that, he was called up to the Korean U23 in 1996 and started his professional career when he joined the club founded in 1997 Daejeon.

At first, Gong struggled to get a foothold in the lineup. Not because of talent, but because of his strong personality and acting against the rules. As he became more mature and devoted himself to football, Gong became an indispensable factor. The team’s top scorer record in the 2001 season (which helped the club win the National Cup, its only major title to date), the King of Assist in the 2003 season is an emphasis on Gong’s comprehensiveness, alongside qualities such as speed. , strength and dynamism. In addition to the striker role, he can also play as a winger or an attacking midfielder.

Gong Oh-kyun in his youth, when he was wearing Daejeon’s shirt. (Photo: Namu)

The peak performance helped Gong stand the opportunity to go to the J League to play football and receive a salary of up to 390 million won, but he decided to stay to continue with Daejeon until 2006. 10 years with the club 266 matches, 37 goals, 18 assists, making Gong a legend of Daejeon, and also go down in team history as the first person to score a hat-trick for the club, the first person to score a double at the AFC Champions League.

Looking at Gong’s coaching career, there is one striking detail, he often works in the youth teams. In addition to being the right-hand man of coach Jeong Jeong-yong at Seoul E-Land Club, he used to hold the U18 team, worked as an assistant at U17, U20, U23 Korea, held U20 Indonesia and is now the coach of U23 Vietnam. Male.

Gong’s hobby, or passion for working with young players, was formed in his senior year of playing for Daejeon. Once knowing that the students at Sungwoo Orphanage broke the piggy bank to buy tickets to the football field, he volunteered to donate 200,000 won from each goal or assist to disadvantaged children. this. In the final match of the 2006 season against Jeonnam Dragons, he also sent out invitations to all Sungwoo staff and students.

When he retired in 2009 with the Sunshine Coast club of Australia, Gong stayed in the country of kangaroos and participated in youth training with Shin Tae-yong (current Indonesian coach) for four and a half years. Teaching young players, imparting experiences gained from their time on the field, and then watching them grow up brings joy to Gong. In return, the players also love him endlessly.

Gong Oh-kyun and young talent Lee Kang-in at the 2019 World U20 Championship (Photo: Joongdo)

When Gong decided to leave Seoul E-Land last year, the club’s leader told Spotvnews: “Assistant Gong is the one who has the greatest trust of the players, so I know they were upset when they heard about it. heard that he did not renew his contract.”

In the feat of winning the 2019 world runner-up title of Korea U20, even though he was only an assistant, Gong played a huge role in promoting the qualities of the players as well as spreading the fire. After a failed opening match against Portugal, Korea needed to beat South Africa in the second match. They played badly in the first half and Gong gave an inspirational speech at halftime. They came back and scored the only goal in the 69th minute. He also worked to improve the individual technique of Lee Ji-sol, who was already in good shape, helping Kim Se-yoon regain speed after injury and provide helpful advice to Lee Kang-in, who he considers to be superior to Japan’s Takefusa Kubo.

Certainly, Coach Park Hang-seo did not exaggerate when praising Gong as a good coach with his own philosophy and method. Although it is impossible to predict the future, there are many factors that help Master Gong succeed with U23 Vietnam. Importantly, besides his experience, he has a great love for young players.