Erick Thohir Agrees to Extend Coach Shin Tae-yong's Contract

The upload was accompanied by a photo of Erick and Shin shaking hands while together at the dining table.

During a dinner that took place in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday (24/4/2024), they not only discussed the national team's achievement program, but also talked about the condition of the players and the strategy ahead of the quarterfinals match in the U-23 Asia Cup against South Korea, which will take place on Thursday (25/4), Doha time or Friday (26/4) early morning in Indonesia.

"Yes, I am committed. Especially in the latest agreement, which is to reach the top 16 of the Asian Cup and the quarterfinals of the U-23 Asian Cup, coach Shin can achieve it. So we continue the collaboration between PSSI and coach Shin. We also discussed the readiness of the players and strategies in the quarterfinal match against South Korea tonight. This is a golden opportunity to qualify for the Olympics. So it must be really utilized. Opportunities do not come twice," said Erick.

Also read: No Compromise from STY for South Korea

Erick added that the agreement to continue the collaboration was based on the road map for the Indonesian national team program until 2027.

"At present, we have the golden generation of Indonesian football. We have young players who, in terms of skill and mentality, can compete at the Asian and international levels. Moreover, the opportunities for them to go further are very large. This must be maintained and at the same time successors must be prepared in a short time," added Erick.

Shin is considered successful in improving the quality of Indonesia's national team's gameplay, both in age groups and the senior national team. Shin has made several achievements, such as bringing Indonesia to qualify for the group stage for the first time at the 2023 Asia Cup in Qatar.

Shin also has the opportunity to make history in Indonesian football at the ongoing U-23 Asia Cup in Qatar. Shin will accompany his team against his own country's team, South Korea, in the quarterfinals of the U-23 Asia Cup, early morning Friday (26/4/2024) WIB.

If they are able to advance to the last four by beating South Korea, Indonesia will be closer to a ticket to the Paris Olympics. The U-23 Asian Cup event is a qualifier for the Olympics, with the top three teams directly qualifying for Paris, while the fourth place team will have a playoff match against African representatives.

In the qualification round for the 2026 World Cup, Indonesia has a great chance to advance to the third round of qualifying in the Asia zone. Currently, the Garuda team coached by Shin is in second place in the Group F standings, below Iraq with seven points from four matches.

Two consecutive victories against Vietnam have put Indonesia in a position where they only need one point in their final two matches to secure their place in the third round, which automatically earns them a ticket to the final round of the Asia Cup. The last two matches will be against Iraq and the Philippines, both of which will be played on Garuda's home turf.

Also read: Indonesia vs South Korea, Two Trainers' Antithetical Patent Test

Thanks to their brilliant performance in the World Cup qualifiers, Indonesia has become the team with the highest FIFA ranking leap for the period of April 4. They climbed eight spots to the 134th position. Meanwhile, Vietnam, who lost to Indonesia, experienced the steepest drop in ranking, sliding down ten places.

Shin has been handling the Indonesian national team since 2020 with a four-year contract duration. In addition to the senior team, he also handles the youth teams, U-20 and U-23.

As a coach, Shin has experienced the ups and downs of matches, both at the domestic and international levels. As a club coach, he led his team, Seongnam Chunma, to win the Asian Champions League in 2010. He was also dubbed the "Jose Mourinho of Asia" because of this achievement.

Meanwhile, as the coach of the national team, Shin brought the South Korean U-23 team to the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Later, he also brought the senior South Korean team to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In this competition, he recorded one of his best achievements as a coach by defeating the world football giant, Germany, 2-0, in the group stage.