And given the fact that the team is made up of young talents, hopes abound for the squad to satisfy the nation’s hunger for a soccer trophy in the coming events this year, especially the Southeast Asian Games.

Under South Korean coach Shin Tae Yong, Indonesia showed its mettle in the tournament by qualifying for the semifinals as the group winner, edging pre-tournament favorite Vietnam on a better goal score sheet. The deciding second leg of the semifinal against Singapore was a nerve-racking drama as the host had three players sent off before losing 4-2 to Indonesia.

For Indonesia, the championship match against Thailand was a replay of the final tie between them in 2000, 2002 and 2016. And losing a final to the same team five times – not to mention in other regional events – is evidence of a gap that Indonesia, particularly the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), has not addressed for at least the last two decades.

All the while, new regional soccer forces like Vietnam and Singapore have done their homework to match Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand. Singapore, against all odds, has won the AFF four times, while Vietnam lifted the trophy twice, in addition to the soccer gold medal in SEA Games in 2019.

In a higher level competition, Thailand and Vietnam reached the World Cup Asia qualifying round, a feat that has eluded Indonesia. The two Southeast Asian teams did not qualify for the world’s most prestigious soccer competition to be held in Qatar this summer, but they have proved how far they have progressed.

Indonesia is blessed with a demographic dividend to select the best talents to form its national soccer team, but history shows the SEA Games gold medal it won more than 30 years ago was the last soccer laurels to decorate the PSSI’s cabinet.

During this period, different people have taken the PSSI’s helm and national team coaches have come and gone. Several times controversies have dogged the PSSI, ranging from allowing a corrupt person to lead the organization behind bars to match-fixing scandals involving some PSSI executives.

Despite the changes, both in personnel and policies, the end result has remained the same: No AFF trophy or SEA Games gold medal as the minimum standard to measure the country’s performance in soccer.

Shin’s arrival two years ago has rekindled Indonesia’s dream of restoring its soccer hegemony in the region. He and his coaching team have identified and worked hard to address the national team’s weaknesses, such as speed, power and discipline – the non-negotiable assets for a team to win a game. The former South Korean international also appears to know in detail about his players, including their unhealthy habit of eating gorengan (fried snacks), which is now among his “don’ts” list.

Shin may not have to change the nearly winning team and the nation should never stop believing that the AFF failure was just a stepping-stone to near future glory.