Kim Sang-sik's defeated coach was dismissed, U.23 Indonesia decided on another coach for SEA Games 33

The Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) decided to choose coach Indra Sjafri to lead the Indonesian U.23 team to compete at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand, instead of continuing to trust Mr. Gerald Vanenburg.

Why Coach Sjafri?

On September 29, PSSI held a meeting in Jakarta and officially announced that Coach Sjafri would be the head coach of the U.23 Indonesia team at the 33rd SEA Games. Mr. Zainudin Amali, Vice President of PSSI, stated: "PSSI considered many factors before choosing Coach Sjafri. He helped the U.23 Indonesia team win the SEA Games gold medal in Cambodia 2 years ago. Combined with his past achievements, we chose this veteran coach."

Mr. Sjafri's advantage is his understanding of Indonesian football and local players. This strategist is a former Indonesian national player, who has led the youth football teams of the archipelago and is the Technical Director of PSSI. He helped the U.19 Indonesia team win 2 Southeast Asian U.19 championships (2013, 2024), win the Southeast Asian U.23 championship in 2019, and has 1 gold medal and 1 silver medal at the SEA Games.

In the context that SEA Games 33 will not take place on FIFA Days, the U.23 Indonesia team will have difficulty calling up naturalized players to play abroad, mainly calling up local players, so the appointment of coach Sjafri is understandable.

Coach Vanenburg "falls out of favor"

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Sad days of coach Vanenburg

2025 was an unsuccessful year for Dutch coach Vanenburg. At the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, he and his students only won the runner-up position when they lost to coach Kim Sang-sik's U23 Vietnam in the final match. In the 2026 Asian U23 qualifiers, coach Vanenburg also could not help the U23 Indonesia team win a ticket to the final round when he only had 4 points after 3 matches, finishing second in Group J. In which, the 0-0 draw with the U23 Laos team made Indonesian fans extremely disappointed.

The contract between PSSI and coach Vanenburg lasts until 2026. Without any outstanding achievements, the contract extension between the two sides is still a question.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bai-tuong-cua-ong-kim-sang-sik-bi-truat-quyen-u23-indonesia-chot-hlv-khac-cho-sea-games-33-185250929185836358.htm