Indonesian naturalized stars 'disband'

After losing to Iraq, which officially ended their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, coach Patrick Kluivert shared some noteworthy information about the situation in the Indonesian team's locker room.

Indonesian naturalized stars have difficulty securing their future - Photo: REUTERS

Why are Indonesian fans unreasonable?

“Stifling, lifeless” is how coach Kluivert described the situation in the Indonesian dressing room after the defeat to Iraq. The Dutch strategist may have just wanted to talk about disappointment, but the media and fans thought it was more than that.

Bola newspaper raised the issue of coach Kluivert's future, and the former Dutch player confirmed that he "didn't know".

That could be the last interview of coach Kluivert, as Indonesian fans expressed anger towards the Dutch strategist.

On social media, hashtags like "KluivertOut", or even "ErikOut" (chairman Erick Thohir) appeared frequently. And in the stadium, the audience chanted Mr. Shin Tae Yong's name to demand Kluivert's dismissal.

Football fans are sometimes unreasonable, and this case is no exception. Coach Kluivert made a certain mark when leading the Indonesian team through the 3rd qualifying round, and fell into a very difficult situation in the 4th qualifying round.

Coach Kluivert (right) and president Thohir - Photo: Bola.com

At this stage, Indonesia has to play both matches on Saudi Arabia's field, becoming the team with the most disadvantage in terms of location (compared to Iraq - a country also in the Middle East).

They also face the biggest disadvantage in terms of match schedule, adaptability, and player fitness... And finally, Indonesia is still generally weaker than Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Two narrow defeats against Saudi Arabia and Iraq are not too bad results. But Indonesian fans are not sympathetic, because of a promise that existed about a year and a half ago, when the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) implemented a massive naturalization policy.

Zainudin Amali, the vice president of PSSI at that time, had to explain himself to the anger of fans. The majority of Indonesians were still unhappy with the massive naturalization of PSSI players, leaving almost no place for native players in the national team.

"We only naturalized for short-term goals. The future of Indonesian football still depends on training young players, and hopefully we will not have to naturalize anymore," said Mr. Amali.

The short-term goal that PSSI mentioned is of course a ticket to the World Cup. Indonesia did everything for this goal, and then failed. So the fans' absurdity is within an "understandable" framework.

No future for naturalized stars

There are two sides to every coin, and the mass naturalization policy clearly has numerous problems for the Indonesian team, besides the temporary success effect.

First is the cohesion. After the loss to Saudi Arabia, coach Kluivert was forced to remove his "favorite player" Mark Klok from the official squad.

The 32-year-old midfielder was considered one of the reasons for coach Shin Tae Yong's dismissal in the past. In an interview in September, Klok did not hesitate to call Shin a "dictator".

Indonesian players find it difficult to maintain stability in the dressing room - Photo: PA

Because of the conflict with some Dutch stars like Klok, coach Shin had to leave. And now, when Indonesia failed, fans can't help but look back at the players who caused internal trouble like Klok.

The colors of the flag, the team relationships from the training centers and clubs are the factors that bind the stars together. But in Indonesia at this time, it is difficult to talk about those factors.

17 of their current 23 players (could be more than 20 if they were all there) are naturalized, and none of them are teammates at European clubs.

Not only that, the current Indonesian team is also clearly differentiated in terms of level. Audero, Diks, Idzes and Verdonk have reached world level, playing for famous clubs in the highest leagues of Europe.

But most of the rest only play in the first division in Europe, or even drift back to Indonesia. Last summer, a series of naturalized players like Jordi Amat and Thom Haye had to go to Indonesia to play football because they were unemployed in Europe.

Many Indonesian stars like Idzes (left) are at a level too high compared to their teammates on the national team - Photo: GS

Not on the same level, and maybe not even on the same path. There will come a time when wearing the Indonesian national team shirt will be a burden for stars like Diks or Idzes.

Every year, they will have to gather for the national team 4-5 times, mostly during the season, with the round trip distance being up to 30,000km.

Even South American superstars have a hard time with such a journey. Almost every time they join their national teams, they have to miss a match, and sometimes they are injured.

Too many hidden problems could tear apart Indonesia’s naturalized stars at this time. What united them in the past was the World Cup ticket, but now that goal is gone.

"Kluivert Out", and even "Erik Out", the harsh slogans of Indonesian fans can make people's hearts cold. And don't be surprised if in a year's time, this European squad is scattered.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dan-sao-nhap-tich-indonesia-tan-dan-xe-nghe-20251012175205425.htm