JAKARTA The South Korean national news agency, Yonhap, on January 6 evening posted a title on the sports page: One S. Korean Coach Celebrated, Another Fired After ASEAN Football Tournament, One South Korean Coach Partyed, Others Fired After the ASEAN Football Tournament.
It is easy to guess that the report relates to two South Korean coaches, Kim Sang-sik and Shin Tae-yong.
The fate of the two is indeed contradictory. Kim Sang-sik, who was just tied up on May 3, 2024, as coach of the Vietnam national team to replace Philippe Troussier, managed to bring his team to win the 2024 AFF Cup by defeating Thailand.
The title was the first at the Southeast Asian level for Vietnam since 2018. At that time, the nicknamed Golden Star was still carpentry by a coach who also came from South Korea, Park Hang-seo.
In Indonesia, Shin Tae-yong, who has been in charge of the national team since being contracted on December 28, 2019, has never brought a single title. After almost five years of training the Indonesian national team and non-performing, Shin Tae-yong was fired.
The decision to dismiss Shin Tae-yong was read out directly by the Chairman of PSSI, Erick Thohir on January 6, 2025.
"We actually considered changing coaches before the end of the year, especially after the match against China. However, at that time, we felt the decision was too tight and could disrupt the stability of the team," Erick said at a press conference in Jakarta.
"We see the need for leaders to be able to implement strategies that are certainly agreed upon by the players, better communication, and better program implementation for the Indonesian national team," Erick said in his official statement.
As mentioned earlier, during his five years of coaching the Indonesian national team, Shin Tae-yong, who has gone viral, called 'Coach Shin', has not produced a single title. His best achievement for the senior team was the runner-up of the 2020 AFF Cup. He also brought the Indonesian football team to third place in the 2021 SEA Games. The rest, Shin Tae-yong has not placed the Indonesian national team on the podium, in any tournament.
In addition to the senior national team, Shin Tae-yong also leads the age group, namely U-20 and U-23. In both teams of age groups, the man who was born in Yeongdek, South Korea on October 11, 1970, also has not brought a winning achievement. Shin Tae-yong has just succeeded in bringing the U-23 team to second place in the 2023 AFF U-23 Cup.
Shin Tae-yong's achievements in his career as a coach in his country were also not spectacular. When he headed Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma's team, he managed to bring the team as winners of the 2011 South Korean FA Cup and 2010 Asian Champions Cup. Under his care, in 2009 Seongnam was second in the K League final standings and runner-up in the South Korean FA Cup.
Shin Tae-yong has also been a South Korean coach at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He replaced German coach, Uli Stielike. But South Korea's journey at the 2018 World Cup ended in the group stage after losing 0-1 to Sweden and 1-2 to Mexico, and winning 2-0 over Germany.
When compared with the achievements of two South Korean coaches who also handle senior national teams in Southeast Asia, Park Hang-seo and Kim Sang-sik, Shin Tae-yong's achievements are still losing.
Although he has never handled the South Korean national team in the World Cup like Shin Tae-yong, Park Hang-seo has collected more titles. In fact, he is said to be the best coach in the history of Vietnamese football. He brought the Vietnam football national team twice in a row to become the champions of the SEA Games, 2019 and 2022. In addition, the 2018 AFF Cup was also successfully won by Vietnam under Park Hang-seo.
SEE ALSO:
Meanwhile, for Kim Sang-sik who has also strengthened the South Korean national team like Shin Tae-yong, the title is nothing new. He brought Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to become the K League champion in his first season in charge of the team in 2021. Thanks to this achievement, Kim Sang-sik was awarded the award as the best manager of the 2021 K League.
Before being contracted as Vietnam's national team coach, Kim Sang-sik also led Jeonbuk to become the 2022 South Korean FA Cup champion. And as is widely known, he brought Vietnam to win the 2024 AFF Cup in his first season as Vietnam coach. In this event, his team also defeated Indonesia, which was coached by Shin Tae-yong with a score of 1-0, in the group stage.
It is undeniable that the Indonesian national team currently participating in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers can be referred to as the European team', or many also call it the Dutch national team KW'. Naturally, because there are 17 stocks of Indonesian national team players raised in European football culture.
Of these, 15 of them are Dutch. They are: Maarten Paes, Ivar Jenner, Justin Hubner, Thom Haye, Eliano Reijnders, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Shayne Pattynama, Ragnar Oratmangoen, Rafael Struick, Mees Hilgers, Kevin Diks, Calvin Verdok, Jay Idzes, and Mark Klok. A British-blooded man, namely Elkan Baggott. Another Spanish-blooded, namely Jordi Amat.
Of all these players, only Mark Klok has experienced the climate and culture of Indonesian football because he has been active in the Indonesian League for a long time, before deciding to become an Indonesian citizen. While others have not. Only Jordi Amat has experienced the climate of competition in Asia, with his work in the Malaysian League with Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT).
Communication is a factor that makes Shin Tae-yong have to be dismissed as the coach of the Indonesian national team. That is one of the reasons revealed by Erick Thohir about Shin Tae-yong's dismissal.
During his five years in charge of the national team, Shin Tae-yong did not speak at all other than Korean. That's why he is always accompanied by translators.
Unfortunately, the translator named Jeong Seok-seo who is familiarly called Jeje is also only fluent in Indonesian other than Korean, because he has lived in Indonesia for 14 years to study. He doesn't really understand English, let alone the Dutch. Even though the Indonesian national team is inhabited by most European players who were born to adulthood who never lived in Indonesia, and must be blind to Indonesian culture and language.
It is natural that the communication factor becomes a big problem. The players from Europe are definitely having a hard time digesting Shin Tae-yong's will as a coach. Communication is an important factor in team sports such as football.
In the history of football, there has only been one Asian coach who coached a team in Europe. He is Makoto Hasebe, a former Japanese national team player. After working in the German Bundesliga since 2008 and retiring in 2024, Hasebe has pursued his career as a coach at the last club he defended, namely Eintracht Frankfurt.
At the club, Hasebe coached the U-21 team, not the first team. Despite only training the junior team, Hasebe's election to deal with Eintracht Frankfurt U-21 made big news. On July 22, 2024, ESPN published news about Hasebe with the title: Why Hasebe could be First Asian Manager of a Top European Club.
By living for decades in Europe, especially Germany, Hasebe certainly understands all sides of culture there. His open mind to accepting customs and culture outside Japan has made Hasebe able to pursue a career as a coach in Europe even though it must start from the age group team.
Hasebe's courage to break the trend and reverse anomalies that hinder Asian football's growth and popularity is key. And that's not yet owned by other Asian coaches, including Shin Tae-yong.
It is normal for Shin Tae-yong to be dismissed as the coach of the Indonesian national team, even though he is facing crucial moments in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. After all, he did not leave empty-handed, because the remaining contract of Rp1.4 billion per month ending in mid-2027 must have been paid by PSSI as promised by Erick. The pay is much higher than the salary of the top football coach in South Korea, which ranges from Rp300 million per year.
Not to mention Shin Tae-yong also enjoyed the results of his appearance as an advertising star in various commercial products from several South Korean companies operating in Indonesia, from coffee to automotive. In fact, he has received Golden Visa from the Indonesian government, which was handed over directly to the process of President Joko Widodo in Jakarta on July 27, 2024.
Hamsagabnida, thank you Shin Tae-yong.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
