Indonesia, which dismissed coach Shin Tae-yong, is determined to recruit naturalized players.
Indonesia's Tempo reported, "Indonesia is making a concerted effort to naturalize a Premier League starting defender. The protagonist is Pascal Struijk (26), who plays for Leeds United. Officials from the Indonesian Football Association and coach Patrick Kluivert flew to the UK to make significant progress in naturalizing him."
Struijk, a Dutch national, is a tall defender at 190 cm. He has scored five goals while playing 35 matches for Leeds this season, showcasing his scoring ability. Currently, Leeds is leading the Championship, making promotion to the Premier League likely.
Struijk already has eight years of experience and has played three seasons in the Premier League. Tempo noted, "Struijk's market value is 16 million euros (approximately 26 billion won), which is at the top level in Asia. If he naturalizes to play for Indonesia, he would become the most expensive player on the national team. Struijk's market value is higher than that of the entire Chinese national team."
Indonesia will host China in the third round of World Cup qualifying on June 5. Indonesia wants to naturalize Struijk as soon as possible to include him in that match.
The Indonesian Football Association dismissed coach Shin Tae-yong in January and appointed coach Kluivert. The association stated that "Shin Tae-yong had issues with leadership and tactics," providing vague reasoning. According to Indonesian media, the reason for Shin's dismissal was reported to be conflicts with naturalized players from the Netherlands.
Ultimately, the Indonesian Football Association appointed Dutch legend Kluivert. Supporting this, Indonesia has significantly increased the number of Dutch naturalized players in the national team. In the match against Australia, naturalized players made up as many as 10 of the starting 11.
Kluivert suffered a 1-5 defeat in his debut against Australia. There was tremendous outcry from fans demanding the return of coach Shin Tae-yong. Kluivert achieved his first victory on March 25, winning 1-0 against Bahrain.
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