Former national goalkeeper coach Lee Woon-jae, a key player in the historic 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semi-final run, is joining the Vietnam national football team as a full-time goalkeeper coach. The Vietnam national team, led by coach Kim Sang-sik, who took over the reins last May following the successful tenure of coach Park Hang-seo, has achieved notable milestones in Vietnamese football history.
In a phone interview with Sisa Journal on the 8th, Coach Lee Woon-jae shared, “Upon hearing that the Vietnam Football Federation was seeking a dedicated goalkeeper coach for the national team, Coach Kim Sang-sik recommended me to the federation,” adding, “I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the Vietnamese national team.”
Coach Lee expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “With the Southeast Asian Football Championship coming up next month, I’m eager to share my expertise with the Vietnamese national players to strengthen their goalkeeping skills.”
Since first donning the national jersey in 1992 until 2010, Lee appeared in 132 A-matches and became the first goalkeeper in South Korean history to join the Century Club (100+ A-match appearances). Together with Coach Kim, Lee will officially debut with the Vietnamese team at the 2024 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Mitsubishi Electric Cup, held from December 8 until January 5, 2025. Vietnam has been placed in Group B, alongside Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Coach Kim Sang-sik will lead the Vietnamese national team in a training camp in Gyeongju, South Korea, from November 23 for ten days. The team will set up its base camp on the natural grass field at the Gyeongju Public Sports Complex, utilizing this period for domestic training.
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