Jakarta –
Indonesian national team coach Shin Tae-yong acknowledged the role of naturalized players in improving the quality of the national team. He said the presence of naturalized players gave a new color and added strength to the Garuda squad.
“Having naturalized players makes us even stronger,” said Shin in a written statement, Thursday (28/3/2024).
After winning 1-0 in the match against Vietnam at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK), Shin admitted that he was worried about the condition of his team’s children. The reason is, 10 players are sick, which of course has a big impact on the condition of the national team ahead of visiting Vietnam’s home ground.
“After the match between Indonesia and Vietnam finished, there were 10 players who were sick, so I suspect this second match will be difficult,” he said.
Shin is grateful that the naturalization program carried out under the leadership of the General Chair of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir was able to erase his worries. This gives him more space to fill the depth of the squad with the qualities of other naturalized players.
“With naturalized players joining, we can choose more freely than before,” he added.
Apart from increasing the strength of the national team, Shin Tae-yong is optimistic that the presence of naturalized players will encourage local players to perform better. He said healthy competition would provide great benefits in creating a stronger national team squad. Apart from that, he also encouraged local players to increase their level so they could compete with naturalized players.
“With conditions like these, local players must also be able to fight harder to become better and in this way the Indonesian national team will definitely progress,” he concluded.
(account)
2024-03-28 03:16:26
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