Why do European players 'land' on the Thai and Indonesian national teams?

WAVE OF OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE RETURN HOME

In recent years, teams in the Southeast Asian region have begun to make more use of overseas Vietnamese resources. At the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam, U.22 Thailand entered the final with foreign players such as Jonathan Khemdee (of Danish origin), Patrik Gustavsson, William Gabriel (Sweden) and Ben Davis (England). Currently, all of these players have been called up to the Thai national team and are considered the future of the "War Elephants". Adding Nicholas Mickelson (of Norwegian origin), Elias Dolah (Sweden), Marco Ballini (Italy), James Beresford (England), Manuel Bihr (Germany), Thanawat Seungchitthawon (Thai but moved to France since childhood, played for the French U.17 team..., the overseas Thai resources of the Golden Temple team are truly high quality and abundant. They are capable of competing with local stars, not only helping the Thai national team become stronger but also contributing to raising the level of the national championship when returning home to play football.

Ben Davis (middle) was born in England, chose to play for the Thai national team and currently plays in the Thai-League.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Compared to Thailand, the Indonesian team uses players of mixed blood more strongly and thoroughly, especially when billionaire Erick Thohir, who was the president of the famous Inter Milan club, became the President of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI). Now, the team of thousands of islands can field a squad of 11 players of foreign origin. The rare remaining domestic factors are Marselino Ferdinan, Egy Maulana, Asnawi Mangkulam... The Indonesian players that PSSI has tried to bring in are also very high quality. They have Jay Idzes who is playing regularly in Serie A, Thom Haye playing in the Dutch National Championship, Sandy Walsh playing every week in the J-League... and many more names. According to the website Transfermarkt , the value of the Indonesian team is 37.5 million euros. The figures for the Thai and Vietnamese teams are 8.35 million euros and 6.08 million euros respectively. That formidable squad helps Indonesians still hope that their team still has a chance to participate in the 2026 World Cup. In the third qualifying round of the Asian region, Indonesia defeated Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, drew with Australia and currently has 9 points, ranking 4th in Group C.

The biggest opponent of the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Malaysian team, is also not out of the game. Before the confrontation with coach Kim Sang-sik and his team on June 10, coach Peter Cklamovski also summoned a series of "Ma-Kieu" such as Hector Hevel (Dutch origin), Gabriel Palermo (Spain), Matthew Davies (Australia), La'Vere Corbin-Ong (Barbados), Quentin Cheng (China), Daniel Ting, Stuart Wilkin, Hong Wan (England), Dion Cools (Belgium), Fergus Tierney (Scotland) and Nooa Laine (Finland).

NOT THE FEDERATION'S PRIVATE BUSINESS

Indonesia is impressive for its professional Indonesian player selection system. Under the direction of PSSI, a specialized team was established to scout for Indonesian players playing around the world, especially in Europe. What is special is that this process is not limited to sports, but also involves close coordination between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia.

After identifying potential players through data collection with detailed information on nationality, origin, playing position and performance, PSSI will forward the information to the national team department. Here, the head coach will carefully consider before deciding whether to invite the player or not. If the nod is given, official approaches will take place with the participation of the Indonesian embassy or consulate in the country where the player lives. Direct meetings with players and representatives are also organized systematically, to create the most favorable conditions for players to clearly understand the path to naturalization and playing for the national team. The procedures are quickly accelerated so that players can play for "Garuda" as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Thailand has a more flexible but also very effective approach, relying on the influence of powerful figures in the football world and the Thai community abroad. One of the prominent names is billionaire Madam Pang, President of the Football Association of Thailand, who has many relationships with player agents around the world .

In parallel, Thailand has also launched a specialized program called Talent ID. This is a system directed by former head coach of the Thai national team, Mr. Sirisak Yodyardthai, specializing in monitoring, synthesizing and evaluating information on young players with potential, not only in the country but also in countries with large Thai communities such as the US, Germany, Sweden, France, etc. The Thai community also plays an important role as a bridge by regularly sending player information to domestic football representatives. They also create many social networking sites, regularly posting information about Thai players abroad for fans and experts to follow.

The fact that Thailand and Indonesia invest in the strategy of recruiting players of mixed blood not only helps them improve the quality of their teams but also demonstrates a modern mindset in football work. The way these two football backgrounds do things is a clear demonstration of the globalization trend in sports , where origin is not only a blood tie, but also an opportunity to create success for an entire country. There, the football federations of the countries need the cooperation, support and companionship of many resources and related departments. (continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vi-sao-cau-thu-goc-au-do-bo-doi-tuyen-thai-lan-indonesia-185250520194214959.htm