Krishna Sadhana
Football Tribe SEA Editor
Reports have been emerging from Indonesia that former South Korea national team head coach Shin Tae-yong has agreed a deal with the Football Federation of Indonesia (PSSI) to manage both the senior and U-23 national teams of Indonesia. This means that Shin, who led South Korea during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, have decided against taking up the offer made to him by Chinese League One side Shenzhen FC in favor of accepting PSSI’s, which in the process eliminates Luis Milla from the running for the top job within the Indonesia national team setup. Milla had been seeking a second stint with the Timnas Garuda after his previous tenure with the PSSI ended rather sourly in 2018 and his application was well-received by the PSSI, with him and Shin standing as the last two candidates for the job vacated by the outgoing Simon McMenemy. However, as reported by Indonesian media outlet BolaSport, Shin has passed the fit and proper test given to him by the PSSI quite impressively and the 49-year old is set to take charge of both the Indonesia senior and U-23 national teams.
The Vice-President of the PSSI, Cucu Soemantri, told BolaSport that the PSSI have agreed to give Shin their full trust and backing in taking charge of Timnas Garuda. The decision was made due to Shin’s optimism during his presentation to the PSSI in Malaysia on November. Shin had told the PSSI higher up that he’s confident that he could win titles with the Indonesia national team, something that Milla couldn’t promise to the PSSI during his own presentation a week after Shin’s. Cucu, however, refused to disclose Shin’s contract with the PSSI, only telling BolaSport that Shin will sign his new contract on December 26th and the official announcement of Shin’s appointment will be released by the end of January 2020, during the annual PSSI Congress.
The reaction to Shin’s appointment within the South Korean media outlets were varied. While Yonhap News has reported about Shin’s agreement with the PSSI to take charge of the Indonesia national team and his departure to Jakarta to sign his contract, another South Korean media outlet, sporttvnews.co.kr, voiced their doubts. sporttvnews.co.kr reported that Shin will only fly to Jakarta to consult with the PSSI about his appointment and there will be no contracts being signed. However the media outlet added that further discussions will commence within the days succeeding December 26th, which may or may not see Shin put pen into paper on his Indonesia national team contract.