Mr. Lee Dong-jun: 'Coach Gong left because of a different vision from VFF'
"Coach Gong has directly participated in negotiations with VFF. But due to the difference in goals and vision, the two sides cannot continue to stick together. This is not related to money, but simply. It's a matter of expertise. In football, it's normal to mix and match," Mr. Lee Dong-jun shared with MetaSports on the morning of December 13.
Some other sources believe that under the same DJM agency, Coach Park Hang-seo's decision to leave after the AFF Cup 2022 partly affects the choice of Coach Gong. Currently, the Korean leader is receiving a number of offers from V-League clubs.
Coach Gong was signed by the VFF to a one-year contract from March 2022, as a solution to the fire after Coach Park withdrew from the U23 team. In the first tournament - the AFC U23 Championship 2022 final round, the Korean leader made a strong impression with his confident and consistent attacking style. Vietnam thus drew Thailand, Korea and won Malaysia, before stopping in the quarterfinals because they lost to Saudi Arabia - the team then won.
Due to Asiad 19, scheduled to be held in China, postponed due to Covid-19, Mr. Gong returned to Korea to complete the AFC Pro coaching course. When he returned to Vietnam, he regularly attended professional tournaments and national youth tournaments to select forces for Vietnam U23, serving the 32nd SEA Games and the Asian U23 qualifying round that will take place in 2023.
After the 9th VFF Congress, the two sides discussed the future, but could not find a common voice. The 47-year-old leader agreed to leave three months before the deadline so that the VFF had time to find a replacement and prepare for the upcoming tournaments, which is the SEA GAmes in Cambodia in May 2023.
According to the plan, Coach Park will bid farewell to the Vietnamese team after this year's AFF Cup. Therefore, the VFF Standing Committee decided to choose a new leader who can concurrently hold both the national team and the U23 team. According to the explanation of VFF leaders, the two teams have a close relationship, many members share the same, so it is necessary to synchronize the gameplay. He also said that the tournaments of U23 and the team often take place in close proximity to each other, so it is necessary for a coach to hold two teams.
While playing, Gong played as a striker, mainly in the Daejeon Citizen shirt in the K-League (10 years). He played a total, 319 games, scored 43 goals. After retiring, he switched to coaching. Before coming to Vietnam, he worked as an assistant coach for the Shenzhen club (2015), Seoul E-Land (2021), the Korean U17, U20, U23 team, the Indonesian team (2020) and directly led the Korean U18 team. 2016) and Indonesia U20 (2020).
