Shin Tae-yong Intens Safari To Europe, Looking For Descendants For The New Indonesian National Team

JAKARTA - Shin Tae-yong has recently seen intense visits to a number of countries in Europe. Initially, he wanted to see how the condition of the Garuda squad players who took part abroad.

He has several times uploaded meetings with a number of Indonesian national team players who play in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy through his personal social media.

It appears that Shin Tae-yong is monitoring the matches played by Ivar Jenner, Sandy Walsh, Marselino Ferdinand, and the player who has just received an Indonesian passport, Jay Idzes.

Shin Tae-yong immediately rushed to Europe at the end of February 2024 after returning from a break after leading the team in the 2023 Asian Cup.

However, there has been speculation that there is a possibility that the coach is also looking for new players who can strengthen the Indonesian national team.

Regarding this possibility, Nova Arianto, assistant coach of the Indonesian national team, did not deny it.

"Obviously coach Shin saw the condition of the players, yes. As we can see from the update on coach Shin's status to meet all the players outside.

"He (other than that) sees new player situations that might be able to help the Indonesian national team," Nova Arianto was quoted as saying on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.

Nova's statement implies that Shin Tae-yong really wants to add to the naturalization players.

In addition to monitoring players abroad, it is currently known that there are already three figures whose naturalization process has not been completed.

Merkea are Thom Haye, Ragnar Oratmangoen, and Maarten Paes. The summons of the three to strengthen the Indonesian national team against Vietnam in the 2026 World Cup Qualification has yet to be bright.

Currently, the process is still in the House of Representatives (DPR). Their names have been included in the latest Plenary Session on March 5, 2024.

"Yes, we'll just have to wait for PSSI's official release. We'll see if he (three new names) enter or not (on the list of 27 players for the 2026 World Cup Qualification against Vietnam)," Nova said.

The Indonesian national team will play two matches of the 2026 World Cup Qualification in the Asian Zone against Vietnam.

The inaugural match is scheduled to take place at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium on March 21, 2024. Then, the second party was held at My Dinh Stadium on March 26, 2024.