Indonesia 'does not trust' U23 coach, appoints former coach to lead U22

The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has just decided to appoint Mr. Indra Sjafri to lead U22 Indonesia to defend the 2025 SEA Games gold medal in Thailand.

Mr. Indra Sjafri will lead U22 Indonesia to attend the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand - Photo: PSSI

Mr. Indra Sjafri (62 years old) is not a strange name to Indonesian football. Mr. Indra Sjafri has been the Technical Director of the national team for many years and a coach of the national youth teams.

Two years ago, Mr. Indra Sjafri led the U22 Indonesia team to win the 2023 SEA Games gold medal in Cambodia. In the past time, PSSI assigned the U23 team to Dutch coach Gerald Vanenburg.

However, Mr. Vanenburg continuously failed to achieve the expected results when he and U23 Indonesia only finished second in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship and failed to qualify for the 2026 Asian U23 Championship.

Therefore, 2 months before the campaign to defend the 2025 SEA Games gold medal begins, PSSI decided to appoint coach Indra Sjafri to lead the Indonesian U22 team at the tournament in Thailand.

Sharing about the decision to appoint Mr. Indra Sjafri, PSSI President Zainudin Amali said, "U22 Indonesia needs an experienced coach who has won gold medals in this arena because the SEA Games is very different."

Despite appointing Mr. Indra Sjafri to lead the Indonesian U22 team, PSSI has not decided to fire coach Gerald Vanenburg. Mr. Amali affirmed that coach Gerald Vanenburg will remain as coach of the Indonesian U23 team until the end of his contract.

HOAI DU

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/indonesia-khong-tin-tuong-hlv-doi-u23-bo-nhiem-nguoi-cu-dan-dat-u22-20250930053523228.htm