I’m no football fan by any stretch but I’m a news person so I care about what’s going on and when this sort of revelation came to surface it makes me question things.
Quick recap:
• Indonesia fired their men’s national football team’s head coach Shin Tae Yong
• The team crashed out of the AFF Cup group stage in December
• AFF Cup was made up mostly of younger players due to circumstances
• Coach took team from rank 173 to 125 in 4 years
• Former Dutch player Patrick Kluivert revealed to be new coach by notable world football insider.
During the firing announcement, the federation’s chief, Erick Thohir, revealed that he was given five days in December to fly overseas and interview candidates. He had three people shortlisted and only one showed up when contacted. He also said he called them to meet on Christmas Day because he wanted to see their commitment, not because he doesn’t respect a religious holiday.
This is where I paused.
He called a meeting on Christmas Day. ON CHRISTMAS!! So of course the one who’d attend is the guy who have no other commitments and is desperate for a job!
Patrick Kluivert may have been a celebrated football player having played for Ajax, Milan, and the Dutch national team, but he is basically a rookie coach who’ve had very little experience handling senior teams and what record he has is poor.
If you turn this around and call Indonesian candidates for an interview during Eid, you’re not going to get much of a response.
Indonesian football fans are already using the hashtag #KluivertOut to show their disappointment at the decision.
#TootSEA #Indonesia #Football