JAKARTA – Indonesia fired Shin Tae-yong on Jan 6 and will unveil an unnamed European coach this weekend, with their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup still alive.
According to renowned football insider Fabrizio Romano, former Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert is set to sign an initial two-year contract and will be unveiled as Tim Garuda coach on Jan 12.
Shin had been in charge since 2020 and took Indonesia into the decisive third round of qualifying, where they sit third out of six teams in their group.
The top two go straight to the World Cup, with third and fourth-placed teams going into another round of qualifying.
Erick Thohir, chairman of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), said the 54-year-old South Korean had been sacked because of communication issues and poor recent performances.
He said: “We need a leadership that implements strategies as agreed with the players, communicates better, and implements better programmes for our national team.”
Indonesia have already hired a replacement from Europe and he will be introduced to the public on Jan 12, Thohir added.
“Coach Shin Tae-yong has received the paperwork and there will be further process on our ending partnership. Once again I’d like to thank him,” Thohir told a press conference.
When asked by reporters whether Kluivert was one of the coaches interviewed, he said: “Indeed, one of the candidates I interviewed whose name was mentioned earlier.”
Reports have suggested that Louis van Gaal and Marco van Basten were also interviewed. Both men have previously helmed the Dutch national team.
Kluivert has coached the Curacao national team and his most recent job was as boss of Turkish side Adana Demirspor. He also previously served as assistant to van Gaal with the Oranje.
Indonesia, who have naturalised a dozen players born in the Netherlands, lost 2-1 at home to China in October and then were thrashed 4-0 by Japan a month later in qualifying for the World Cup in North America.
They then defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Jakarta and remain firmly in with a shout of qualifying for the competition for the first time since the country gained independence in 1945.
Shin, who managed his native South Korea at the 2018 World Cup, had been contracted until 2027.
He lead Indonesia to the 2020 Asean Championship final, the last 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup and fourth place at the 2024 Under-23 Asian Cup.
Indonesia’s next World Cup qualifier is a crunch trip to Australia, who are second in the group but just a point ahead, in March.
Thohir was not concerned that changing coaches in the middle of the campaign would disrupt the team.
“It’s normal. Lots of countries switch coaches during World Cup qualifiers,” he added.
“This is something we’ve been discussing for many months, but I think the moment is right, because we still have 2½ months preparation for next games. We still have four matches and we want to get as many points as we can.”
Thohir, who used to own Italian club Inter Milan, said he had made it clear to the candidates that qualifying for the World Cup was the main priority.
“All the candidates that we interviewed during the five days I was in Europe… agreed that this was the target. This is why they agreed to join the interviews,” he said. AFP, REUTERS
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Publish date : 2025-01-06 04:46:00
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