Coach Kim Sang Sik Returns to South Korea: One Week's Gap and the Timing Equation of Vietnam's National Team

On the morning of August 12, 2026, I was sitting in the stands of a small training ground on the outskirts of Paris, notebook in hand, counting every pass in a youth session. My phone buzzed. A statement from the Vietnam Football Federation appeared with a short headline: Coach Kim Sang Sik returns to South Korea after his father's death.

His 84-year-old father passed away after a long battle with illness. In the statement, VFF President Pham Thanh Hung offered condolences and encouraged the head coach to return home for the funeral. He is expected to be absent for about one week.

I closed my notebook. In my profession, people usually only see what happens on the pitch during ninety minutes. But some markers do not lie within the match - they lie in the time before the ball rolls. And on September 24, 2026, when the ASEAN Cup kicks off, that stretch of time will begin to be counted down.

This is not a transfer story, not a tactical statement. It is a life event. But for a national team entering the final preparation phase for a regional tournament, every gap - whether a gap in people or a gap in time - needs to be examined through the eyes of someone who works in the field.

Context: Where One Week Sits in the Preparation Schedule

Kim Sang Sik took the head coach position of Vietnam's national team in May 2026. Over more than two years, he led both the U23 side and the senior national team, leaving a mark in regional and continental competitions. Observers describe his working style as highly focused, sparing in public comments, and heavy on video analysis.

The ASEAN Cup 2026 runs from September 24 to October 5. Vietnam is in Group A alongside Thailand, the Philippines and Pakistan. This is a group that experts consider decisive because of the presence of Thailand - the historic rival and the number one contender for the title.

By the common operating rhythm of Southeast Asian national teams, the pre-tournament preparation phase is usually compressed into three to four weeks. During that period, the head coach must complete several tasks at once: finalize the squad, test formations, build set-piece routines, and - most importantly - transmit the tactical idea to a collective that frequently changes personnel.

One week of absence by the leading figure, in this context, is not an incident. It is a variable in an already crowded equation.

What Actually Happens on the Days the Head Coach Is Away

I have had the chance to observe many teams in Europe and Asia during similar transition periods. And there is something outsiders often overlook: the training ground is not just where tactical drills take place. It is where the tempo is set.

In a typical national-team session, three layers of work happen simultaneously. The first layer is physical - running drills, speed-change exercises. The second is individual technique - passing, shooting, controlling the ball in tight spaces. The third, and the hardest to replace, is shape-and-organization work - where a small decision by the head coach can change the entire structure of a phase of play.

When the head coach is absent, the first two layers are still maintained by assistants. The third layer is where the effect lands most heavily. Because organizational drills depend on the leading figure directly adjusting each position, stopping a session to correct a ten-meter gap between two defenders, or asking a midfielder to drop three steps deeper.

There are mornings when I record the footsteps of players, as if writing an instrumental score. And I have realized that the conductor does not need to play an instrument - he needs to be present to keep the rhythm. When he is absent, the musicians can still play, but the tempo may drift.

The Numbers of One Week

Let us do the arithmetic. If Vietnam's national team enters a final preparation phase lasting four weeks, that is about twenty-eight days. One week of absence accounts for roughly twenty-five percent of total time. But this figure does not reflect the actual loss.

Because the first two weeks of preparation are usually devoted to restoring fitness and re-acquainting with the ball after the club break. This is work that assistants can handle well. The final two weeks are the tactical compression phase - where the head coach almost has to be present at every session.

If Kim Sang Sik's absent week falls in the first half, the impact will be low. If it falls in the second half, the impact will be medium to high. The VFF statement does not specify a detailed schedule, but with the tournament kicking off on September 24, an absence of about one week starting August 12 remains within a safe zone in terms of timing.

The key point lies elsewhere: whether the coaching staff already has a replacement plan for this period. And this is what the statement does not address.

The Power Structure Within the Coaching Staff

A modern national team does not operate through one person. It operates through a structure. Beside the head coach, there are assistants specializing in fitness, analysis, goalkeeping, and sometimes a tactical assistant.

In Kim Sang Sik's case, his one-week absence raises two structural questions. The first: who will take responsibility for running tactical sessions during this period? The second: will personnel and formation decisions be made during that time or wait for his return?

The answer depends on the level of delegation the coaching staff has already established. If delegation is high, the team can continue operating nearly normally. If delegation is low - meaning every major decision must pass through the head coach - then this week will be a pause in the tactical process.

For a coach assessed as highly focused on his work like Kim Sang Sik, the likelihood that he has prepared a script for such a situation has basis. People who have worked for many years typically understand that events can arrive at any time, and the best way to respond is to prepare in advance.

The Contrarian Angle: The Gap May Be a Test

Among observers, there is a rarely voiced view. That a team being able to operate without its head coach for a short period may itself be an indicator of the internal strength of the structure.

I do not look for a hero; I look for someone who holds the right tempo in chaos. But I also look for a system that knows how to hold tempo even when the tempo-keeper is not there.

In elite football, the best-operating teams are those whose philosophy does not depend on a single individual. When the head coach is absent, the assistants still know their tasks. The players still know their positions. That is the sign of a collective that has reached a certain maturity in organization.

If this absent week passes without major disruption in training, that says a great deal about the quality of foundational work the coaching staff has built over more than two years. Conversely, if signs of drift appear, that will be information worth tracking.

The training ground does not lie. It only waits for those who know how to listen. And in this case, those who know how to listen may be the assistants themselves - the people who will have to answer the question of whether the structure can operate independently.

What Is Undervalued in Stories Like This

When a coach is absent for personal reasons, public attention usually focuses on the emotional aspect. That is natural, and in this specific case, it is appropriate. But from a professional angle, there is another aspect that is undervalued: the temporary shift in decision-making focus.

Within a coaching staff, when the leading figure is absent, assistants tend to be more cautious. They are less likely to introduce new experiments, less likely to change formations, and tend to preserve what has already been established. This is a reasonable psychological response - no one wants to create turbulence when the primary responsible person is not present.

But its consequence is that during this period, the team may slow down in tactical experimentation. If that period falls at a moment when experiments need acceleration, the impact may be larger than one week on the calendar.

Conversely, if that period falls in a consolidation phase - where keeping and repeating are necessary - then assistants maintaining stability is beneficial. Assessing the actual impact therefore depends on which phase of the preparation schedule this week falls into.

The Broader Context: Regional Football and Unexpected Events

At the Southeast Asian national-team level, unexpected events are part of operating reality. Short preparation windows, dense schedules, and limited resources force teams to adapt continuously. Cases of coaches being absent - for health, family, or official reasons - are not rare.

What distinguishes a well-organized team from one dependent on a single individual lies in the ability to handle these situations. And in Vietnam's case, there is a favorable factor. Kim Sang Sik has led the national team for more than two years. Not an overly long period, but enough for assistants and players to understand his working philosophy.

The structure exists. The tempo has been set. The remaining question is whether it can be maintained over seven days.

Timing and Numbers to Track

There are four markers I will be tracking in the coming period.

First is the date of Kim Sang Sik's return. If he returns within about one week as expected, that is a positive signal on timing. If the absence extends longer, the level of impact will increase exponentially.

Second is training-session reporting. Information on whether the team continues tactical drills or shifts to physical work during this period will indicate the coaching staff's actual priorities.

Third is the squad list. Whether finalizing the list is delayed due to the head coach's absence is an indicator of how dependent the process is on one individual.

Fourth is the result of the first match. In football, results are the ultimate measure. Every analysis of process only carries meaning when placed alongside results on the pitch.

Conclusion: What Is Worth Waiting For Is Not in the News

In the stadium tunnel, the noise cuts out. Only the heartbeat of the match remains. And that heartbeat is made of many things - not only by the person standing on the touchline.

Kim Sang Sik returning to South Korea to attend to his father's funeral is entirely reasonable and deserves respect. What is worth discussing here lies on the other side: how a national team operates when its leader is absent. That is a question about structure, not about an individual.

What I will be waiting for, after those seven days, is not a statement from the coaching staff, but the way training returns to its rhythm. Because in football, the real answer does not lie in a condolence statement. It lies in the running rhythm of players on a morning in late August, when the teacher has returned.

And I will be there, notebook in hand, counting every step again.