“It’s so unfortunate.”
Shin Tae-yong, head coach of the Indonesian national soccer team, said this with a deep regret about the situation of his former team Seongnam FC, which has been unable to get out of the swamp of long slump. While watching the 37th round of K League 2 2024 between Seoul E-Land FC and Seongnam at Mokdong Stadium on the 30th, he responded to reporters’ requests at half-time.
Shin is a legend who led Seongnam in its heyday. From 1992 to 2004, he played for Seongnam’s predecessors, Ilhwa Chunma, Cheonan Ilhwa, and Seongnam Ilhwa. During his 401 matches, he scored 99 goals (68 assists). Notably, Shin joined the “60-goal-60 Help Club” for the first time in the K-League in 2003, and became the first player to play in 400 matches.
After retirement, Shin became a successful coach of Seongnam. In 2009, he became the runner-up in the K League 1 and FA Cup that year, and in 2010, he won the title at the AFC Champions League. Shin served as coach of the Korean national team under the age of 23 (U-23) and coach of the Korean national team, before serving as coach of the Indonesian national team since 2020.
Coach Shin, who returned to Korea for a short break, visited Mokdong Stadium to support his former team Seongnam and son Shin Jae-won. “That’s what soccer is like, but it’s too bad,” he told reporters at half-time. “I think I need to work harder because my performance is too low,” and then cheered for his former team Seongnam, saying, “If I make a good opportunity, I will be able to come back.”
Shin has been with Seongnam coach Jeon Kyung-joon for a long time. While Shin served as coach of the Korean U-23 team and the Korean national team, Jeon served as the head coach. “I hope you find a compromise considering your thoughts and skills of the players,” Shin said. “As soon as I arrived here, I advised him that it is not easy to apply your soccer philosophy at once.”
On his son Shin Jae-won’s performance, he said, “He is a good cross player while playing in the side. From the perspective of a leader, not from the perspective of his father, I acknowledge his ability to cross. However, he lacks detail,” adding, “I don’t think he stands out in terms of offense because he is playing a lot when he is playing tactically today.” 안전놀이터
“When I come home from time to time, I don’t do it for a long time, but give advice on the overall game content or tactical movements for about 1-2 minutes,” he said. “Especially when the opponent’s defense is down, they should be able to creatively create opportunities in the process of attack. And even if there is no space, they should be able to use their teammates to create space,” he added.
Despite coach Shin’s support, Seongnam lost to Seoul E-Land 0-1. Seongnam, which failed to win for 18 matches (five wins, nine draws and 13 losses) including four consecutive losses, ranked 13th (5 wins, 20 losses, 24 points), and ranked at the bottom of the list this season regardless of the results of the remaining two matches. “One win is too hard and difficult,” coach Jeon said. “But I will not give up until the end.”