The AFF U-23 Cup Final Becomes The Moment Of Kakang Rudianto And Kim Sang-sik Reunion Again After Overthrowing MU
JAKARTA - Kakang Rudianto will meet Kim Sang-sik again after his last appearance together to overthrow Manchester United.
The Kakang and Kim reunion was presented in the 2025 AFF U-23 Cup final between Indonesia U-23 vs Vietnam U-23 which was held Tuesday, July 29, 2025, at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium.
Previously, it was known that apart from Malik Risaldi, Kakang Rudianto became an Indonesian player who was part of the ASEAN All Stars team against Manchester United at the end of May 2025.
Well, Kim Sang-sik at that time became the captain of the ASEAN All Stars. The team was able to make a surprise by defeating the Red Devils with a 1-0 victory for Myanmar player, Maung Maung Lwin, scoring a single goal.
In that match, Kakang was drawn in by Kim Sang-sik to replace Singaporean Irfan Fandi. Kakang entered in the 68th minute or three minutes before the winner's goal was scored.
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In his appearance, Kakang was considered to appear quite solid. As a defender, he even had time to make it difficult for Alejandro Garnacho to penetrate the ASEAN All Stars defense.
Kim Sang-sik still remembers the performance of the Persib Bandung player. At the press conference ahead of the final, the South Korean coach also praised Kakang for his return.
"I had a short time with him (Kakang Rudianto). I know he is a good player so he can have a positive impact on the team," said Kim Sang-sik, quoted on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.
This time Kim Sang-sik and Kakang will meet again, but are in two different camps with the same ambition to become champions.
The performance of Vietnam U-23 under Kim Sang-sik is fairly slick. In the 2025 AFF U-23 Cup, the young squad of The Golden Star Warriors always won in three matches and scored seven goals and conceded twice.
While Kakang played an important role in the defense of the U-23 Indonesian national team. Three times played, Kakang showed a solid game as a center-back.