Who does Vietnam’s representative vote for in the FIFA The Best awards?

Coach Kim Sang Sik and captain Duy Manh show some intriguing contrasts in their FIFA The Best award selections.

In the early hours of December 17 (Vietnam time), the FIFA The Best gala night in Doha (Qatar) officially named Ousmane Dembele as the World’s Best Male Player.This marks the second consecutive time the French star has claimed the top honor, confirming his absolute dominance after a brilliant season with Paris Saint-Germain, including a historic "quintuple" with the prestigious Champions League title.

Besides the excitement around the prestigious award, Vietnamese football fans also focused on the voting details from the country’s two representatives: head coach Kim Sang Sik and captain Do Duy Manh. The results reveal very different and fascinating professional perspectives between the Korean coach and his national team protégé.

While most experts favored Dembele after an outstanding season, head coach Kim Sang Sik submitted a completely different list. The Korean strategist did not include Ousmane Dembele in his top 3 picks. Instead, he awarded the highest points to Cole Palmer, the star shining brightly at Chelsea.

The next two spots on Coach Kim’s ballot went to striker Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) and defender Nuno Mendes (PSG). This choice indicates that Kim Sang Sik highly values players who can shoulder team responsibility and maintain consistency in tough leagues like the Premier League and Bundesliga.

Contrary to his coach, captain Do Duy Manh showed strong agreement with the majority of global voters. The defender born in 1996 placed absolute trust in Ousmane Dembele for the top spot, perfectly matching the final outcome announced in Doha.

Duy Manh’s ballot strongly focused on French-born stars playing in Ligue 1. He ranked Dembele’s former teammate Kylian Mbappe second and gave third place to Nuno Mendes. Clearly, Dembele’s record of 37 goals and 15 assists last season fully convinced Vietnam’s national team captain.