Erick Thohir (L), chairman of the Football Association of Indonesia, shakes hands with Shin Tae-yong, head coach of the Indonesian men’s senior and under-23 national teams, in this photo captured from Thohir’s Instagram page on April 25, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Apr. 26 (Korea Bizwire) - Indonesia’s stunning victory over his native country of South Korea in the Olympic men’s football qualifiers Thursday night in Qatar left head coach Shin Tae-yong with mixed feelings.
“I am really pleased and happy. This feels great,” Shin said after Indonesia eliminated South Korea in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup with an 11-10 win on penalties.
“But I also have mixed feelings about this. This is tough for me,” Shin continued, discussing his win over the country of his birth. “But someone had to win, and I only did the best I could for Indonesia because I am coaching Indonesia right now. I want to thank my players, Chairman Erick (Thohir of the Football Association of Indonesia) and people back home in Indonesia who stayed up late to cheer us on tonight.”
Shin, 53, has been in charge of Indonesia’s senior and U-23 men’s national teams since 2019. He previously coached South Korea at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where the Taegeuk Warriors shocked defending champions Germany 2-0 in the group stage.
Indonesia have enjoyed great success on Shin’s watch, reaching the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time earlier this year and then qualifying for the U-23 Asian Cup for the first time.
This year’s U-23 Asian Cup is also the AFC qualifying event for the Paris Olympics. The two finalists and the winner of the third-place match will punch their tickets to Paris, and Indonesia are now a win away from qualifying for their first Olympics since 1956.
Against 10-man South Korea, Indonesia mostly controlled the run of play and held a 2-1 lead before conceding a late equalizer. During the shootout, goalkeeper Ernando Ari stoned South Korea’s 12th kicker, Lee Kang-hee, and then Pratama Arhan converted his shot as Indonesia’s 12th kicker to clinch the win.
Though Indonesia were mostly considered an underdog against South Korea, Shin said he’d never lost faith in his players.
“I’ve been with many of these players for almost four years, and I have a clear idea of what they’re like. I felt we could do really well here as long as I could motivate them,” Shin said. “I told them, ‘No one can tell us we won’t be able to win this tournament. I think we’re good enough to reach the final, and you just have to trust me and follow my lead.’ We’ve come this far because I’ve instilled confidence in these players.”
Shin said the collective confidence will only continue to grow.
“I feel like we can play against anybody,” Shin said. “With the senior team, my goal is to qualify for the next stage of the World Cup qualification. And once that is accomplished, then I want to set a higher goal and keep working toward that. And as you watch our progress, you’re going to start thinking that Indonesian football is something to be reckoned with. You can expect big things from us.”
On the eve of the South Korea match, Thohir announced on his Instagram page that Shin’s contract, set to expire in June this year, had been extended to 2027. Accompanying the message was a photo of Thohir and Shin shaking hands at a Korean restaurant.
Asked about his contract status, Shin smiled and said: “I haven’t put pen to paper yet. But Chairman Erick and I had a good conversation, and I am pretty sure my contract will be extended.”
(Yonhap)
