‘God Taeyong’ Coach Misses Association Six Years ago, Changes Korean Soccer History

It’s a cheeky fate. Coach Shin Tae-yong blocked Korea from advancing to the 10th consecutive Olympics.

Indonesia, which played in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Asian Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on the 26th (Korea time), failed to compete with South Korea until extra time, winning 11-10 after a penalty shootout to advance to the semifinals.

On the day, Indonesia overwhelmed Korea tactically. Trapped in a simple three-back strategy, Korea mainly played long-pass soccer with low probability of success due to wide gap between offense and defense. Indonesia, on the other hand, appropriately mixed fast and ground balls to advance the ball to near the Korean penalty box.

The indicator never lies. On the day, Indonesia had 53 percent of the ball possession rate, which took longer than Korea. Indonesia recorded 21 shots, and Korea had eight. Although Indonesia had only five shots on target, the number of shots on target was similar to that of Korea (two). Rather, it was a miracle that Korea had only two chances to score one goal and even induced an own goal.

Shin’s tactics on the day were like a declaration that Indonesia was out of the weak team. With both wing-backs rising high in a ground-breaking situation, Indonesia created a 3-2-4-1 formation. This is a typical example of modern soccer, in which the team seeks to stabilize the back by using the latest tactics while advancing the ball gradually to the offensive end. Indonesia used mainly the sides but occasionally displayed good development in the center, which was in strange contrast to Korea’s soccer, which urgently needed to stage counterattacks through long passes.

Coach Shin said, “We rushed to miss the opportunity. He had been serving as a firefighter for the Korean national team ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, while expanding his capabilities throughout the Korean national team by age. It was not a short period of time, so he was not able to fully express his color, and despite the 2-0 win against Germany, he failed to qualify for the World Cup, winning one and losing two games, and putting down the baton for the Korean national team.

In contrast, the team was given ample time in Indonesia. For Indonesia, the team left not only the A team but also the national team by age to coach Shin. As the team is a small soccer team, it was possible to make the decision, and as such, the team was sincere about soccer development.

Instead of setting a strict distinction between the A-team and the national team by age, Shin boldly appointed even young players to the A-team if they are competent enough to make the team competitive in the long run. He also actively led overseas players with Indonesian nationality to the Indonesian national team.

This helped the team advance to the semifinals at the U23 Asian Cup. As many as 14 players have had experience with national team A at least once in Shin’s U23 team. Nine players also played at the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup, including Pratama Arhan, Marcelino Perdinan, Raphael Strawick, Ivar Jenner, and Justin Herbner. For players who already experienced adult performance, the U23 Asian Cup was a good opportunity to display their true value. 먹튀검증

Before the match, Shin used the expression “fearful fate” when it comes to playing in the quarterfinals against Korea. As he said, Korea collapsed after losing to the leader’s team that left the team six years ago. It was a complete defeat not only in the result but also in the content. The success of Shin and Indonesia provided a way for Korea to move forward.