Indonesia U-23 Now Not Better Than The Shin Tae-yong Era

The U-23 Indonesian national team in the era of Gerald Vanenburg is considered weaker than when Shin Tae-yong coached (doc. Indonesian national team).

JAKARTA - Laos U-23 coach, Ha Hyeok-jun, assessed that the appearance of the U-23 Indonesian national team was not as strong as when Shin Tae-yong was trained. This was stated after his troops detained the Garuda Muda squad in the 0-0 series in the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup Qualification.

In that match, Indonesia U-23 dominated the game and had many chances, but until the end of the match no goals were created.

Regarding Indonesia's U-23 appearance, Ha Heyok-jun said that the team currently being coached by Gerald Vanenburg had different qualities from the Shin Tae-yong era.

"I also feel that Indonesia when coached by Shin Tae-yong was a stronger squad. However, now it seems that they are in a transition period. So, it's not as strong as it used to be," said Ha Hyeok-jun after the match, quoted on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

This was stated by Ha Hyeok-jun because he had experience meeting Indonesia U-23 in the coaching era of Shin Tae-yong during the 2024 AFF Cup.

"During the AFF Cup (2024), when the coach Shin Tae-yong, their team seemed to have more fighting spirit and clearer tactics," said Ha Hyeok-jun.

The 55-year-old coach underlined the way the Garuda Squad Attacked during the Shin Tae-yong era which he considered better.

"Their attack was also quite aggressive and they used a good strategy. However, in my opinion, (the current team) was not as strong as during the Shin Tae-yong era, especially in terms of attack power."

"In fact, I thought, is it possible that Indonesia could beat us with a score of 3-2? However, in reality, compared to that time, it seemed that they were a little weaker. That was just my personal opinion," said Ha Hyeok-jun.

While with Shin Tae-yong, the U-23 Indonesian national team achieved a number of achievements. In addition to qualifying for the U-23 Asian Cup finals for the first time through qualifying, the Red-White Team can also reach the semifinals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup and the 2024 Olympic playoffs.