Thanh Hoa Club has reached an agreement to invite coach Choi Won-kwon to be the new captain to replace Mr. Tomislav Steinbruckner - who has just left the team after an unexpected season.
It is expected that the Korean coach will officially debut this week, starting his journey at the Thanh team in the 2025-2026 V.League season.
Previously, although Mr. Tomislav was assessed to have stable professional qualifications, his achievements still did not meet the goals of the team's leadership. The change of coaching staff is expected to bring a new vitality to the club that has won the National Cup twice.
Coach Choi Won-kwon is a familiar face in Asian football. In his playing career, he played for the U23 Korea team at the 2004 Olympics and fought for many years in the K.League for FC Seoul, Daegu FC and Jeju United.
He won the K.League 2000, Super Cup 2001 and reached the final of the AFC Champions League 2002.
After retiring, Mr. Choi switched to coaching, associated with Daegu FC as an assistant since 2016 before being trusted as head coach at the end of 2022.
In Vietnam, coach Choi Won-kwon is known as an assistant to Mr. Kim Sang-sik in the 2024 ASEAN Cup campaign, he made an important contribution to the championship of the Vietnamese team. Many players believe that it was Mr. Choi's sharp tactical instructions that helped the team win the dramatic final against Thailand.
Thanh Hoa Club hopes that the Korean coach will bring a new look in the way he operates the game, while reigniting the strong competitive spirit of the Central team's identity.