Vietnam team and the fear named Shin Tae Yong

(Dan Tri) - There was a time when coach Shin Tae Yong was very hesitant when facing the Vietnamese team. But times have changed as the Korean coach has a deep understanding and successfully raised the level of strength of Indonesian football.

Coach Park Hang Seo leaves, Shin Tae Yong is no longer afraid

Coaches Park Hang Seo and Shin Tae Yong were close colleagues in Korea. They were also pioneers in the wave of Korean coaches "invading" Southeast Asian football. There was a time when every battle between these two coaches from the land of Kim Chi was watched by the whole country of Korea.

Coach Shin Tae Yong has never won against Coach Park Hang Seo while working in Indonesia (Photo: Bola).

There is a special detail, every time he faced Mr. Park, Shin "turned off the lights". In total, the two met 5 times when leading the Vietnamese and Indonesian teams. At the national team level, Coach Park's Vietnamese team won 2 and drew 2 out of 4 matches against Shin Tae Yong's Indonesia. At the U23 level, we defeated Indonesia 3-0 at the 2022 SEA Games. In which, both victories of Coach Park Hang Seo against Shin Tae Yong at the national team level were of great significance. The 4-0 victory over Indonesia in the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup helped us to participate in the third qualifying round for the first time. Or the 2-0 victory in the second leg of the 2022 AFF Cup semi-finals helped the Vietnamese team reach the final. Notably, the Vietnamese teams under Mr. Park have never conceded a goal against Shin's Indonesia in all 5 confrontations. That shows the complete helplessness of Coach Shin in front of his compatriot. At that time, there were even many signs that Coach Shin Tae Yong was angry and did not want to shake hands with Coach Park Hang Seo. When asked about this after the second leg of the AFF Cup 2022 semi-final, the Indonesian coach said: "For some personal reasons, Mr. Park and I have not shaken hands for a long time." Since Coach Park Hang Seo left after the AFF Cup 2022, Coach Shin Tae Yong has been relieved of a heavy burden. Not only that, the naturalization policy of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) has helped the coach born in 1970 have more quality options.

Coach Shin Tae Yong develops Indonesian football to become stronger and stronger (Photo: AFC).

Meanwhile, Vietnamese football is still on the journey of reconstruction as the golden generation declines. For that reason, the balance of confrontation between Vietnamese and Indonesian football has changed. Now, coach Shin Tae Yong has become a "nightmare" for the "Golden Star Warriors". In three matches in 2024, Indonesia won against the Vietnamese team and did not concede a goal.

Coach Shin Tae Yong is increasingly knowledgeable about Indonesian football

The victory over Saudi Arabia in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup on November 19 opened up great hope for Indonesian football in the dream of participating in the World Cup. Perhaps, at the time coach Shin Tae Yong appeared in the archipelago in 2020, this was just like a dream for Indonesia. At that time, they were still ranked 173rd in the world. It would be a mistake to look at the fact that coach Shin Tae Yong continuously lost to his compatriot Park Hang Seo and underestimate the talent of this strategist. Remember, before coming to Indonesia, coach Shin led the Korean team at the 2018 World Cup. In that tournament, they won against Germany. The rise of Indonesian football comes from the wave of naturalized players. However, it would be a mistake to ignore the role of coach Shin Tae Yong. He and the President of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI), Erick Thohir, formed an extremely compatible team. There, the Indonesian billionaire supported all of Shin Tae Yong's requests, including mass naturalization to succeed. Like coach Park Hang Seo, Shin Tae Yong brought the steel spirit of the Koreans to the Indonesian team. On his debut in Indonesian football, coach Shin criticized Indonesian players for their physical weakness. He said they were only strong enough to play for 90 minutes. Now, let's see native Indonesian players (not to mention naturalized players) like Rizky Ridho, Yakob Sayuri, Marselino Ferdinan or Pratama Arhan running wild with Saudi Arabian players. Right from the beginning of his work in Indonesia, coach Shin Tae Yong determined to build a young force (not simply naturalize). Therefore, Garuda (Indonesia's nickname) has achieved great achievements such as winning the 32nd SEA Games (although Shin did not directly lead) or reaching the semi-finals of the U23 Asian Cup and almost winning a ticket to the 2024 Olympics. Coach Shin and PSSI also actively hosted world youth tournaments such as the U20 tournament (disqualified) and the U17 tournament so that Indonesia's youth team could have the opportunity to compete.

Not only the national team (including many naturalized players), Indonesia's youth teams are also excellent (Photo: AFC).

Indonesian media likened the Korean coach to a "missionary". In particular, he paid special attention to the issue of nutrition for players (especially young players). Center back Rizky Ridho, who started out as a youth coach under Shin Tae Yong, admitted that he had never paid attention to nutrition until coach Shin Tae Yong called him up to the U20 team. Because his family was poor, Rizky Ridho often ate rice mixed with Sambal sauce and fried flour. However, coach Shin instructed this player to eat a nutritious diet. In addition, the coach born in 1970 discussed with PSSI about the problem of smoking in Indonesia. After that, the highest authority of Indonesian football ordered a 100% ban on smoking in professional tournaments. Coach Shin Tae Yong also paid attention to the issue of sports medicine when he strongly fired the doctor who forged his degree, Elwizan Aminuddin. He once advised goalkeeper Ernando Ari not to have surgery on his shoulder injury until coach Shin knew about it. Superball (Indonesia) commented on coach Shin Tae Yong's strategy of "transforming" Indonesian football: "Slowly but surely. Step by step, coach Shin has helped Indonesian football surpass Southeast Asia and move towards the Asian level. His understanding of Indonesian football has helped him become more and more successful. Coach Shin has helped Indonesian football not only progress in the short term but also have a long-term development project." Coach Shin Tae Yong's vision was also demonstrated at the 2024 AFF Cup. He used the Indonesian U22 team to participate, ignoring many local players such as Rizky Ridho, Ricky Kambuaya, Witan Sulaeman and Egy Maulana Vikri. That shows that he always wants to take Indonesian football further than it is now thanks to the resilience of the youth team. Whatever the case, coach Shin Tae Yong is the foreign strategist with the longest time leading the national team among coaches in Southeast Asia. While the Vietnamese and Thai teams have both gone astray and are forced to change coaches, Indonesia remains steadfast with its Korean coach.

Coach Shin Tae Yong and President Erick Thohir have a long-term development project with Indonesian football (Photo: PSSI).

Shin Tae Yong's challenge at AFF Cup 2024

Using the Indonesian U22 team in the 2024 AFF Cup promises to be a big challenge for coach Shin Tae Yong. According to the Indonesian press, initially coach Indra Sjafri (who often works with the Indonesian youth team) was recommended to lead this team. However, later, President Erick Thohir asked Shin Tae Yong. That shows PSSI's expectations for Indonesia's youth as well as the talent of coach Shin Tae Yong. Of course, Garuda does not see the 2024 AFF Cup as a walk in the park. Instead, they see this tournament as a useful training ground for the youth team, no less important than the Asian U23 tournament. Before the tournament, coach Shin Tae Yong still set a big goal for himself, which is to help the Indonesian team win the 2024 AFF Cup championship. This is not the first time the Korean strategist has put himself in a difficult position. This year, he faced the goal of passing the group stage of the 2024 Asian Cup, reaching the quarter-finals of the U23 Asia and excelling in both. He is also getting closer to the goal of reaching the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. That said, Shin Tae Yong's tenacity and determination are good assets for Indonesian football. It can continue to help this team fly high. The Vietnamese team needs to be very careful when facing the U22 Indonesia team in the decisive match in December at the AFF Cup 2024, especially in the context that we are under psychological pressure after losing to the team of "nemesis" Shin Tae Yong all 3 times this year.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-va-noi-lo-so-mang-ten-shin-tae-yong-20241128155539272.htm