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| photo capture=Marca |
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| Photo = Fabrizio Romano SNS Capture |
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An unexpected duo reunite in Indonesia.
The Indonesian Football Association announced on its website on the 6th (Korea time) that it has terminated its contract with coach Shin Tae-yong for the national team and the U-23 national team. The association is grateful to coach Shin for his contribution to the development of Indonesian soccer, saying, `Decisions made after evaluation and long-term goals have been made during those years.' I wish you all the best in the future,' he added.
There was an abnormal signal. The recent news from the Italian media Tutosport began. The media reported that `'Eric Tohir, former Inter Milan owner and president of the Indonesian Football Association, wants to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals' Indonesia no longer seems to be satisfied with Shin Tae-yong's soccer, which focuses on physical strength and speed. He is also considering changes on the bench to make a qualitative leap. The new director could be of European origin, he claimed.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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The local area of Indonesia was turned upside down. Coach Shin's position has weakened since the elimination of the 'AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup' by local media outlet Bolanet. Shin told Tohir that he was evaluated (for the performance of the tournament)." Indonesian national team head coach Nova Aryanto said in a media outlet that `there has been no discussion (about changing the coach.' However, Indonesian Sports Minister Ito Ariotejo told Bolanet that "PSSI (Indonesian Football Association) is waiting for a decision." took a delicate position. Local fans wanted Shin Tae-yong to remain in charge, but he was eventually replaced.
Coach Shin agreed to renew his contract with Indonesia in April last year, which will last until 2027. It was based on the performance of advancing to the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup and advancing to the quarterfinals of the U-23 Asian Cup. In the third qualifying round, he is in third place, contrary to the expectation that he will struggle with top teams such as Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and China.
However, the Mitsubishi Cup, which was just finished with Vietnam's recent victory, was a problem. Coach Shin organized the tournament's squad, which is not subject to FIFA's mandatory transfer rules, mainly for players under the age of 22. It was a stepping stone to find a new face and to strengthen the national team and U-23 team's power. However, the atmosphere inside the association changed when Indonesia beat Myanmar 1-0 in the group stage and then ended up with a 3-3 draw with Laos, which was considered one step lower, and rival Vietnam lost 0-1 and failed to advance to the semifinals. The draw against Laos seems to have hurt Tohir's feelings rather than the defeat against Vietnam, which has the same skills.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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The Indonesian Football Association has interfered with coach Shin's team management since his early days in office. He placed a coach who stepped down in an unfaithful manner at the beginning of his term as the chairman of the association's technical committee and challenged the operation of the national team's standing army, and set an unreasonable goal that did not take into account the situation at the time when he was 173rd in the FIFA rankings. Coach Shin won absolute support from fans by leading Indonesia to the first-ever round of 16 at the Asian Cup and the third Asian qualifying round for the World Cup, and defeating Saudi Arabia at home, but he could not overcome the power of Tohir, who also serves as the president of the Korea Football Association and a key government official.
In a press conference on the same day, Tohir said, `I have decided not to be with Shin anymore. Interviews with three leaders have been made." As expected, the successor was Patrick Kluibert, former Adana Demirspor coach. Fabrizio Romano, who is called the highest peak of the European transfer market, also recognized it. On his SNS account, he wrote 'Kluivert signed a contract as the new head coach of Indonesia. There is even a two-year extension option on the two-year contract,' it said.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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Coach Kluibert is one of the legends of Dutch soccer. Cluibert, who played for Ajax, AC Milan and Barcelona, retired and played as the head coach for the Dutch and Cameroon teams. He served as a leader in Curaçao as an acting director.
A surprising name has been added to this. Former Dutch national team coach Louis van Gaal has been appointed sports director. Van Gaal retired from coaching in 2022 after playing for the Dutch national team. He is one of the masters of Ajax, Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and the Netherlands.
In particular, he has a deep relationship with Kluisbert, who worked as a coach and player at Ajax and Barcelona, and worked as a coach and head coach at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. On the 7th, Marca surprised the reunion of the two in Indonesia under the title of `Unexpected duo.'
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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The Indonesian Football Association's decision to fly the two Dutch legends to North Korea and the U.S. seems to be related to the fact that most of the naturalized foreign players are Dutch nationals.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
