Southeast Asian football is bustling with the season of changing head coaches.

Breakups due to 'wrong' philosophy

For many years, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia football have all outlined their development philosophies and have shown loyalty to their own paths. Thailand greatly admires the methodical way of doing things and the clear training process of Japanese football. They want to develop their teams according to the Japanese model of playing football with rich technique and dedication. That is the reason why the Thai women's team, U23 team and men's national team are all led by strategists from the land of the rising sun.

But it seems that there is a big difference between expectations and reality. In just 2 years, Thai football has been disillusioned from the women's team, U23 and national team levels. Unsatisfactory results and uncopyable playing styles have forced Thai football planners to continuously fire Japanese coaches, the latest being Masatada Ishii.

The same thing happened with Singapore football. 4 months ago, Mr. Tsutomu Ogura announced his resignation for personal reasons, but everyone understood that even if he did not voluntarily leave his position, this coach would have difficulty being retained. The reason is simple: the Singapore team's performance is not good. Ogura's winning rate with Singapore is only 31.25% (winning 5/16 matches).

As for Indonesia, their philosophy is simply to “rely” on the Dutch. From the way they use human resources to recruiting coaches, Indonesia is closely linked to human resources from the Netherlands. That is the reason why the Indonesian Football Federation did not hesitate to fire Shin Tae-yong to invite Patrick Kluivert. Unfortunately, Kluivert’s strong language skills cannot help him overcome his shortcomings in terms of qualifications and coaching experience.

In both recent defeats to Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the former Barcelona striker appeared inexperienced compared to his colleagues. This is understandable because in his coaching career, he has never been successful. Even in the Curacao national team and Adana Demirspor club, Kluivert has been extremely disappointing due to poor performance.

It can be said that the decision to appoint Kluivert was a wrong move by the Indonesian Football Federation. They have the same philosophy but from theory to practical application, there is still a big gap. To some extent, Thailand and Singapore's trust in Japanese coaches is also a wrong choice.

Coach Ishii cannot please Thai football officials

Standing at the crossroads

It can be said that at this time, Thai, Singaporean and Indonesian football are all at a crossroads with difficult questions that need to be answered. For the Thai people, will they continue on the path of “Japanization” or will they choose a new ideology to pursue? Finding the answer will be extremely difficult because this is not the first time that Thai football has failed when placing its trust in Japanese coaches.

As for Indonesian football, it seems they will continue to put their faith in the Dutch. But the question is who will Indonesia choose and which prestigious strategist is willing to trade his career to return to the lowlands to lead a complex team like Indonesia?

Meanwhile, for the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), the question is equally difficult. Will they recruit a famous foreign coach or continue to put their trust in Gavin Lee, a less famous but good-performing local coach?

Surprisingly, thanks to Gavin Lee, the Singapore team is changing its fate. From being at a disadvantage in the race to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, they are now lighting up their dream with 2nd place, winning 8 points after 4 matches (equal to the top team Hong Kong, China). Because Gavin Lee is doing so well, FAS is in a dilemma, unable to decide who will lead the national team.

It can be said that from now until the FIFA Days gathering in November, the race for the hot seat in Southeast Asian teams will become very attractive, no different from the competitions between these teams with many fates...