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PSSI fires national team coach McMenemy over ‘unsatisfactory performance’
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Simon McMenemy
(Tribunnews.com/-)
T
he Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) has ended a deal with head coach Simon McMenemy after apparently losing confidence in his ability to help the national squad qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The last match under McMenemy’s watch will be against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 19.
Before taking on the job as national team coach, the Brit had led Bhayangkara FC to victory in Indonesia’s top-tier league, winning the Liga 1 trophy in the 2017 season.
However, he failed to repeat his magic with the national team, which lost four qualifying matches for the 2022 Cup. Indonesia lost 3-2 to Malaysia, 3-0 to Thailand, 5-0 to the United Arab Emirates and 3-1 to Vietnam.
Aside from the Cup qualification, McMenemy also led the national team for three friendly matches, in which Indonesia collected two wins – against Myanmar and Vanuatu – but lost to Jordan.
Despite the string of defeats in Cup qualifiers, newly-elected PSSI chief Comr. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan hopes McMenemy will present a victory in his last match.
“We thank Simon for his cooperation all this time. [I hope] we can achieve a positive result in Malaysia,” Iriawan said on Wednesday, as quoted by the association’s official website, pssi.org.
Luis Milla from Spain is rumored to be one of the strongest candidates to replace McMenemy.
Meanwhile, PSSI executive committee members said they would consult the association’s technical department in search of the best figure to replace McMenemy.
Iriawan said he would consult with the country’s soccer experts and coaches to find a new head coach.
Besides Milla, South Korea’s Shin Tae-yong is also rumored to be a candidate for the job. Shin was the former head coach of the South Korean national team.
