Coach Shin Tae-yong is committed to completing his contract with the Indonesian national team until June 2024. This statement was conveyed by Shin Tae-yong to South Korean media, Sports Kyunghyang in, Doha, Qatar, Monday (29/1/2024).
In the interview, STY admitted that he had received offers from other countries, but not from Southeast Asia. “I shouldn’t coach in Southeast Asia anymore,” said STY. Even so, STY was not immediately tempted. The South Korean coach honored his contract with the Indonesian national team until June 2024.
“There is talk of renewing the contract, and I could pay the fine and go elsewhere, but for now, I will keep my promise to extend the contract with Indonesia until June,” he said.
STY is still under contract after signing a contract extension in December 2023. He was assigned to lead the national team in 3 events, namely the 2023 Asian Cup, 2026 World Cup Qualification and 2024 U23 Asian Cup. STY has just completed his duties at the 2023 Asian Cup. He led the national team for the first time in history to advance to the last 16.
Indonesia’s progress stopped after being beaten by Australia with a score of 0-4 in the round of 16. Regarding the STY situation, PSSI (Indonesia Football Association) General Chair Erick Thohir upholds an attitude of professionalism in addressing STY’s future. The achievements of the Indonesian national team in the 2023 Asian Cup and 2024 U23 Asian Cup will be a benchmark for decision making regarding STY’s contract extension.
“I’m a professional, so I adhere to that principle. If Coach Shin wants to resign, I can’t refuse,” said Erick Thohir. “However, the agreement between me and STY, whose contract expires until June, has two parameters, namely the senior national team qualifying for the last 16 of the Asian Cup yesterday and the top 8 of the U23 Asian Cup for our youth national team. We have that commitment, then we will talk about an extension for 2027,” explained Erick in Bali, on Tuesday (30/1/2024).
In the 2023 U23 Asian Cup from April 15 to May 3 2024, STY is targeted to bring Indonesia through to the group stage. The 2023 U23 Asian Cup will be held in Qatar. Indonesia is in Group A competing with Australia, Jordan and host Qatar.
“Therefore, at the U23 Asian Cup next April, Indonesia must be able to talk a lot. Moreover, many of our U23 players were included in the senior national team squad yesterday and several players were often in the starting eleven. That is a huge capital for STY to make a surprise,” said Erick explain.
Erick Thohir refers to a number of young talents that Shin Tae-yong relies heavily on in the 2023 Asian Cup, such as Ernando Ari (21 years), Justin Hubner (20), Elkan Baggott (21), Rizky Ridho (22), Pratama Arhan (22), Marselino Ferdinan (19), Witan Sulaeman (22), and Rafael Struick (20).
