Park Hang-seo declared that he would defeat Ahn Jung-hwan in 'Mungchuyachanda4'.
The JTBC entertainment show 'Mungchuyachanda4' (directed by Seong Chi-gyeong, written by Mo Eun-seol), which will premiere on April 6, features South Korea's football legends Ahn Jung-hwan, Park Hang-seo, Kim Nam-il, and Lee Dong-gook as team managers. They will engage in fierce competition in the country's first official 11-a-side football league, the 'Fantasy League'.
Among them, the relationship between Ahn Jung-hwan and Park Hang-seo, who will face off as managers after being mentor and mentee, has garnered significant viewer interest. Park Hang-seo, who served as a coach for the South Korean national football team during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, will meet Ahn Jung-hwan, who was a key striker, as managers in 'Mungchuyachanda4'.
The 'Mungchuyachanda4' team released an interview with Park Hang-seo. The interview includes his thoughts and aspirations as he faces his former student Ahn Jung-hwan, as well as Kim Nam-il and Lee Dong-gook, as rival managers.
Unlike Ahn Jung-hwan, Kim Nam-il, and Lee Dong-gook, who have been active in various entertainment programs since retiring from football, 'Mungchuyachanda4' marks Park Hang-seo's first regular appearance in a variety show. He stated, "I haven't appeared on broadcasts much until now, and if it weren't for the opportunity to work with these three managers, I probably wouldn't have participated. I thought I might not get another chance to work with them as a manager, so I decided to join. I may not have experience in broadcasting, but I will learn a lot," he expressed.
Although his broadcasting experience is limited, Coach Park Hang-seo has a solid coaching background. He was the head coach of the South Korean national football team during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, contributing to the team's semi-final success, and later led the Vietnam national football team to various victories, earning the nickname 'Ssal-Dingkeu' (Vietnam + Hiddink). This has raised expectations that he will showcase a different style of football compared to the other three.
Coach Park Hang-seo remarked, "I never imagined I would meet these three as managers; I thought I would only play football with them someday. I don't have much experience in amateur football, but I believe my instincts as a football manager are better than those of the other three managers," highlighting his strengths built over years of coaching.
When asked about his expected ranking, he humbly stated, "My goal is to be third," adding, "I don't care who takes first or second place. As long as Ahn Jung-hwan is under me, that's all that matters," which drew laughter as a declaration aimed at Ahn Jung-hwan.
Having only coached professional football players, how will Park Hang-seo train the amateur players? He explained, "Since they are not originally football players, they all look very tired just 10 minutes into the game. So, I thought we need to build from the basics. I will assign tasks for at least 30 minutes every day to help them improve their fitness."
Hearing this, Ahn Jung-hwan quipped, "You're just using what I told you," leading to a brief playful exchange where Park Hang-seo responded, "Are you really saying that here?" This playful rivalry between Park Hang-seo and Ahn Jung-hwan raises curiosity about Park Hang-seo's evolution as a manager while learning from his rival.
Finally, Coach Park Hang-seo referred to himself as "Dokjang" (a term meaning 'a fierce manager') and described himself as "a tough guy." There is keen interest in what kind of team he will build in 'Mungchuyachanda4'.
'Mungchuyachanda4' will premiere on April 6 at 7:10 PM.
