MASS NATURALIZATION
The 2023 Asian Cup will kick off in two weeks, but coach Shin Tae-yong's Indonesia team is still in disarray. The 0-4 defeat to Libya in a practice match was a heavy blow, showing that the team from the archipelago is lost in a "maze". Although this is Shin Tae-yong's fourth year coaching the Indonesian team.
Coach Shin Tae-yong's Indonesian team (right) continues to disappoint.
Having been involved in Indonesian football since 2020, coach Shin Tae-yong made an impression when he purged almost the entire team. After the first 6 months of training, he declared that many players "were not worthy to represent Indonesia". Following this declaration, a flood of young stars appeared in the national team. The generation of Egy Maulana Vikri, Witan Sulaeman, Asnawi Muangkualam, or the next generation with Marselino Ferdinan, Hokky Caraka stepped into the spotlight one after another. With a young squad, the Indonesian team finished second in the 2020 AFF Cup and won a ticket to the 2023 Asian Cup. Coach Shin Tae-yong also brought U.20 Indonesia to the U.20 Asian Cup, and Indonesian fans called for a contract extension to stay for many more years.
However, Mr. Shin's "honeymoon" quickly passed. The team nicknamed "Garuda" had a good young force, but only enough to play in Southeast Asia. To reach the big sea of Asia, the Korean coach and the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) turned to naturalizing talents with half-Indonesian blood. In turn, Justin Hubner, Rafael Struick, Ivar Jenner, Sandy Walsh, Shayne Pattynama, Jordi Amat and Marc Klok were given the opportunity to quickly obtain Indonesian citizenship. But of these, only Jordi Amat and Marc Klok had more than 1 year of working with coach Shin Tae-yong. The rest had just received citizenship and were just getting used to it.
STILL Struggling
Has Indonesia become stronger after naturalization? Recent results have shown the answer. Coach Shin Tae-yong's team is at the bottom of the table after losing 1-5 to Iraq, and being held to a 1-1 draw by the Philippines in the second qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup. Including the 0-4 defeat to Libya, Indonesia is on a 3-match winless streak, scoring 2 goals and conceding 10.
The naturalized players have not only failed to bring quality, but have also made the Indonesian team disjointed and weak. No longer a solid and resilient team like the first period when coach Shin Tae-yong took charge, the team from the archipelago now only has a superficial "shell" on the outside, with ineffective playing style, making many collective and individual mistakes. After 3 years of training, coach Shin Tae-yong has not been able to shape a consistent player framework and playing style for the Indonesian team. Defensive counter-attack, ball control and attack or pressing? All of these aspects are very vague in the way Indonesia operates. For example, in the match against Libya, Indonesia controlled the ball nearly twice as much, but shot only half as much as their opponents and conceded 4 unacceptable goals.
According to Bola Times , coach Shin Tae-yong's seat is very hot. He extended his contract until June 2024 with PSSI to complete the rest of the Asian Cup journey and the second qualifying round of the World Cup. However, when the performance has gone down, although the former coach of the Korean team has done everything to revive it, Mr. Shin is not sure to stay until the last day. In the Asian Cup, Indonesia's opponents are Japan, Iraq and the Vietnamese team. They will play Iraq in the opening match, then meet Vietnam and Japan in turn.
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