Southeast Asian fans are stirred as a World Cup coach is about to lead the Indonesian national team

Southeast Asian football is heating up day by day with news that the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) is about to announce a new head coach for the national team.

According to the Indonesian outlet Bola, PSSI will officially introduce coach John Herdman in the coming days, and immediately, this news sparked intense debates not only among Indonesian fans but also throughout Southeast Asia.

John Herdman is no stranger to the football world. He previously managed New Zealand’s women’s team at the 2007 Women’s World Cup, then made a strong impact with Canada’s women’s team, leading them to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics and reach the quarterfinals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup on home soil.

The peak of Herdman’s career came when he switched to coaching Canada’s men’s team, helping the North American side qualify for the 2022 World Cup for the first time in 36 years. Under Herdman’s leadership, Canada’s FIFA ranking soared from 94th to the top 40 worldwide, a historic advance.

On the ASEAN FOOTBALL fanpage, Southeast Asian fans exploded with varied reactions. An Indonesian fan sarcastically said: “An interesting fact: today marks exactly one year since Erick Thohir made a mistake with the national team by appointing Patrick Kluivert.”

Some fans went as far as mocking: “If he fails with the men’s team, maybe he should switch to coaching the women’s team, but of course PSSI won’t see that.”

Meanwhile, another group of fans expressed regret for coach Shin Tae-yong, who had a significant impact on Indonesian football: “Shin Tae-yong is the greatest coach in the history of Indonesian football.”

However, there were also opinions stating that coaching a men’s team at the World Cup level is a completely different challenge: “The issue is he only worked with the women’s team. The men’s team is a whole different level.”

The debate even took on a sarcastic tone when a fan humorously wrote: “Are you ready for the 4th round of World Cup qualifiers yet?”

It’s no surprise that Herdman has been nominated three times for FIFA’s Best Coach of the Year (2012, 2015, 2019) and recently attracted interest from several CONCACAF teams like Honduras and Jamaica.

If John Herdman is indeed appointed, he will be among the highest-caliber coaches ever to work in Southeast Asia, posing a significant challenge to regional rivals including Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.