Tracks of the Indonesian National Football Team's Achievements at Asian Level
History records that the Indonesian national football team was successful in Asia, especially during the early days of independence.
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Indonesian captain, Rizky Ridho (left), tries to slow down South Korean player, Kang Seongjin, during the quarterfinal match of the 2024 U-23 Asia Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar (26/4/2024) early in the morning WIB. Indonesia defeated South Korea and advanced to the semifinals.
New achievements were achieved by the Indonesia U-23 national team in the 2024 Asian Cup. National Team Indonesia has qualified for the semifinals. The Indonesian U-23 national team qualifying for the 2024 Asian Cup seems to revive memories of Indonesia as one of the "Asian Tigers", especially in the early days of independence.
During the reign of President Soekarno, Indonesian football once triumphed on the Asian and international stage. The national team during the Old Order era was not managed by a local coach, but was handled by two foreign coaches, namely Choo Seng Quee from Singapore (1951-1953) and Antun Pogacnik from Yugoslavia (1954-1964). Choo Seng Quee succeeded in bringing the national team to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games I which was held in New Delhi in 1951.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian national team coached by Antun Toni Pogacnik successfully made it to the semi-finals of the 1954 Asian Games in Manila. Four years later, the Indonesian national team again made it to the semi-finals and won a bronze medal in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo. The bronze medal in the football branch was Indonesia's first medal in an official international tournament.
In addition to success in the Asian arena, the Indonesian national team under Pogacnik's leadership also performed brilliantly at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. The Indonesian national team surprised the world by holding the giant Soviet Union to a scoreless draw of 0-0. The Indonesian national team that competed in the 1956 Olympics included Maulwi Saelan, Endang Witarsa, Thio Him Tjiang, Ramlan, and Rusli Ramang.
Pogacnik succeeded in forming a squad consisting of players who are capable of competing on an international stage. Pogacnik is recorded as the first person to lay the foundation for modern football in Indonesia. At that time, Pogacnik led the Indonesian squad to conduct training camps in several Eastern European countries, such as the Soviet Union, East Germany, Yugoslavia, and the Czech Republic.
The Indonesian national team in 1954 under the guidance of Tony Pogacnik. Standing from left to right: Kwee Kiat Sek, Ramlan Yatim, M Sidhi, Mursanjoto, Tan Liong Houw, Chaeruddin Siregar. Kneeling from left to right: Kho Thiam Gwan, Ramang, M Rasyid, Jusuf Siregar, Soegiono.
The national team led by Toni Pogacnik also surprised the audience at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Although they failed to win a medal, the Indonesian football team managed to reach the quarterfinals before being defeated by the giant of world football at that time, the Soviet Union.
The national team under Pogacnik also succeeded in the 1961 Merdeka Games held in Malaysia. Indonesia managed to win the championship title by outperforming competitors such as Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and even South Korea. The championship title in the 1961 Merdeka Games was achieved without a single defeat throughout the tournament.
Pagacnik handled the national team until 1964. He resigned after failing to achieve the medal target at the 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta. Even so, Pogacnik is referred to as the father of modern soccer in Indonesia because he was the first person to establish the foundation of modern soccer in Indonesia.
The series of achievements cannot be separated from the government policies during President Soekarno's term which made sports a tool for expressing the sovereignty and independence of the nation.
In addition, the first president also used sports, including football, as a tool to build the character of Indonesians with strong, healthy, brave, hardworking, and sportsmanship traits. The Indonesian national football team was also sent to participate in a series of prestigious sporting events such as the Olympics, Asian Games, and international friendly matches, including those in Europe.
View of page three of the Dutch language newspaper, Java-bode, edition of 3 May 1955, regarding the activities of the Indonesian National Team Coach in the 1950s, Tony Pogacnik, who provided football training in Bali.
Achievements of the Indonesian National Team during the New Order
During the New Order era, the Indonesian national football team was still respected in ASEAN, even in Asia. At the Asian level, for example, the national team's achievement was qualifying for the semi-finals of the 1986 Asian Games football tournament. However, the national team failed to win the bronze medal after losing to Kuwait 0-5 at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.
Previously, the Indonesian national team also competed until the quarterfinals in the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games. Meanwhile, in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the national team advanced to the second round of the Asia Zone qualification for the World Cup.
During the New Order era, there were 12 local coaches who helmed the Garuda team. Starting from Endang Witarsa (1966-1970) to Danurwindo (1995-1996). Meanwhile, nine foreign coaches from Europe have been recorded as having handled the Garuda team.
In the beginning of the New Order era, one legendary coach was Endang Witarsa (1966-1970). Together with the Indonesian national team, he had already gone through several international matches. The coach affectionately known as Opa Endang had already won the Piala Raja (Bangkok/1968), Merdeka Games (Malaysia/1969), and Aga Khan Cup (Bangladesh/1969). In addition, Endang Witarsa also assisted the Garuda national team until the quarterfinals in the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games.
The coach of the Indonesian National Team for the 1980 Olympic Qualifiers, Frans van Balkom (left), is seen chatting with his two assistants, Bertje Matulapelwa and Hengky Heipon. The photo was taken on March 19, 1980 at the main stadium of Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta.
Another successful coach who handled the Indonesian national team during the New Order era was Sinyo Aliandoe and Bertje Matulapelwa. Sinyo accompanied the national team in their quest to qualify for the 1986 Mexico World Cup.
The Indonesian national team under Sinyo's leadership advanced to the second round of Zone B for the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers after qualifying from the group stage consisting of India, Thailand, and Bangladesh. However, in the second round of the Asian zone, the national team suffered defeats of 0-2 and 1-4 against South Korea, burying Indonesia's dreams of representing Asia in the final round in Mexico.
Bertje, on the other hand, was able to bring home the gold medal in football at the 1987 SEA Games in Jakarta. He was also successful in leading the national football team to the semifinals at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea. In the semifinal match held at Seoul's Olympic Stadium, the national team was defeated by the host country, South Korea, with a score of 0-4.
At the end of the New Order era, Indonesia's FIFA ranking increased to 76 out of 208 total member countries of FIFA. In addition to the coach factor, other factors that contributed to the improvement during the New Order era were competitions and development of young age groups, the merger of the Perserikatan and Galatama competitions gave birth to the Indonesian League, and the entry of foreign players to the Indonesian League, which led to the development of local players.
The Reform Era to Shin Tae-yong's coaching period
During the early years of the reform era, the Garuda squad successfully made it to the final round of the 2000 Asia Cup in Lebanon after remaining undefeated in the qualifiers. However, in the final round of the 2000 Asia Cup, the Indonesian national team coached by Nandar Iskandar failed to advance from the group stage after losing to China and South Korea.
In the following era (2003-2011), the national team's achievement was somewhat diminished. The national team qualified twice for the 2004 and 2007 Asian Cup, but always failed in the early rounds. Even in 2011, the national team failed to qualify in the qualification round.
In this era, the national team has been coached by Peter Withe (2004-2007) and Ivan Kolev (2007). Peter Withe assisted the national team in the 2004 U-20 Asia Cup and only got through the group stage. Meanwhile, Ivan Kolev was only able to lead the Garuda national team to the group stage of the 2007 Asia Cup.
Indonesia's coach, Shin Tae-yong, led his team against South Korea in the quarterfinals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday (26/4/2024) early morning WIB. Indonesia defeated South Korea and advanced to the semifinals.
Next, the Indonesian national team was coached by Luis Milla and Simon McMenemy. During his time leading the senior and U-23 national teams, Luis Milla led the Indonesian U-23 football team to the round of 16 in the 2018 Asian Games.
Meanwhile, McMenemy who accompanied the national team in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers for the Asian Zone did not once bring a victory. In five matches in Group G of the Asian Zone, the Indonesian national team always lost and occupied the bottom of the standings.
Also read: History and Achievements of the Indonesian U-23 Team in the Asian Cup
PSSI then replaced McMenemy in November 2019 and appointed Shin Tae-yong from South Korea. Shin Tae-yong was given the task of coaching the Indonesian U-20, U-23 and senior teams.
At the Asian level, Shin Tae-yong took the senior national team to the last 16 of the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup. Apart from that, Shin Tae-yong also brought the U-23 national team to the semifinals U-23 national team a href="URL_PLACEHOLDER">2024 U-23 Asian Cup which is currently taking place in Qatar. (COMPAS R&D)
Also read: Achievements of the U-23 National Team, Garuda Muda's Achievements Were Not Magic Overnight
