Heerenveen Allows Nathan Tjoe-A-On To Join Indonesia U-23 In The Quarter-Finals Of The U-23 Asian Cup

Nathan Tjoe-A-On has rejoined Indonesia U-23 (Instagram/@nathantjoeaon).

JAKARTA - Good news for the U-23 Indonesian national team. Nathan Tjoe-A-On was allowed by SC Heerenveen to join Garuda Muda in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup quarter-finals.

The information was reported directly by the Chairman of PSSI, Erick Thohir on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, evening WIB.

He even revealed that the Eredivisie club allowed Nathan to defend Indonesia U-23 no matter how far the team's journey in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

"Good news comes from the Netherlands where Heerenveen finally allowed Nathan to strengthen the U-23 Indonesian national team until the rest of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup," Erick said in his statement.

Indonesia U-23 will face South Korea U-23 in the quarter-finals at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Thursday, April 25, 2024.

After being allowed by Heerenveen, Nathan immediately flew to Qatar to prepare for the match against South Korea U-23. Erick said the Dutch club's lobbying attempt was successful thanks to the support of all parties.

In addition to the PSSI General Chair who directly lobbied Heerenveen officials, a number of parties helped through personal and informal approaches.

"Of course, thank you to all parties involved and provide support. Now we are focused on looking at the match against South Korea U-23 with complete strength," said Erick.

Furthermore, Erick specifically thanked the supporters who worked hard to convey direct messages to Heerenveen via social media.

"Thank you for the support of supporters who expect Nathan to be released by his club, to the point that many comments stop very politely to Heerenveen's social media," said Erick.

Previously, PSSI's lobbying of Heerenven regarding permission to release Nathan led to an agreement. Both parties agreed that Nathan joined Indonesia U-23 only throughout the group stage.

According to the federation's target, Nathan was released only to fulfill his achievement of qualifying for the knockout round of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. After the target is achieved, the 22-year-old player must return to Heerenveen.

However, Nathan's contribution which was so important for Garuda Muda made his name echoed again to join Shin Tae-yong's squad throughout the Indonesia U-23 trip to the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

Apart from that, the lobbying carried out by PSSI by going directly is not the first time. This application to Heerenveen is the fourth attempt by the federation to get players according to Shin Tae-yong's wishes.

As is known, the South Korean coach wants the best squad to fill the U-23 Indonesian national team.

Besides Nathan, Justin Hubner's call from Cerezo Osaka also went through a similar drama. PSSI successfully lobbied the J-League 1 club to release the midfielder during Indonesia U-23 competing in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

Then, there are other efforts, such as eliminating Liga 1 2023/2024 for the clubs to be willing to release the players.

"It's not easy, but in the end we are grateful that all the players that coach Shin Tae-yong wants can be available. Now we just have to try and pray for the best results in the top eight," said Erick.