The major concern is speculation that these Brazilian players who meet the U-20-age requirement will become naturalized to play for the national squad at the U-20 World Cup. Many say that such a move would seriously damage morale among the young Indonesian players.

 

Critics have demanded the PSSI to rethink its strategy and prioritize local talents instead at the world-class event.

 

Ignatius Indro of the National Team Supporters Association is among the voices expressing regret over the Brazilians' recruitment, who said that, even as a fan, he would prefer that the national team be composed of Indonesian-born players instead of naturalized foreign players, no matter what the tournament's outcome.

 

“Actually, we don't have any reason to be discouraged [about the outcome]. We have plenty of excellent local players,” Indro told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

 

He acknowledged that he would be fine with recruiting foreign players for the senior team, but doing so for the junior team had different consequences.

 

Indro has thus called on the PSSI to rethink the possibility of using naturalized players on the junior team to avoid seriously affecting the confidence of young Indonesian players and potentially harming their professional careers.

 

“These young players will [end up] feeling inferior throughout their careers. This will seriously injure our great ambition to improve the future performance of our soccer teams,” he said.

 

Properly preparing junior players would require rigorous training and perfecting their training at local competitions. Using sport science methods should also be prioritized in improving the players' performance.

 

Indonesia Liga 1 clubs Arema FC (Malang, East Java), Persija FC (Jakarta) and Bali United have recently recruited young Brazilian players. Henrique Bartoli and Hugo Guilherme are training with Arema while Thiago Apolina Pereira and Maike Henrique Irine De Lima are training with Persija.

 

PSSI media officer Eko Rahmawanto said that the national soccer governing body was in the dark over the recruitment and had been uninvolved with the clubs' decision to recruit the Brazilian players.

 

“The decision was made by the clubs, not the PSSI,” Eko stressed.

 

When asked about the possibility that the Brazilian players might end up in the national line-up for next year's U-20 World Cup, Eko acknowledged the possibility and again deferred the decision as one for the coaches to make.

 

But he also said that paving the way for naturalizing foreign players would not be as simple as it might seem, as the process could take a long time.

 

“The naturalization process is never easy. However, it could be simplified if the international players have familial or blood ties with an Indonesian citizen,” he said.

 

Earlier, PSSI technical director Indra Sjafri also said that the association had no say in the clubs’ decision to recruit the Brazilian players.

 

“It has been made loud and clear that only Indonesian passport holders may join the national team,” Indra stated on the PSSI website.

 

He added that the squad was currently training for the 2020 AFC U-19 Championship in Uzbekistan on Oct. 14 to 31 in preparation for the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

 

“The players are now training under coach Shin Tae-yong to improve their stamina and perfect their skills,” he said.

 

Indonesia's U-19 squad is scheduled to meet Cambodia in its first match on Oct. 14, after which it faces Iran on Oct. 17. The Red and While squad is slated to meet host Uzbekistan on Oct. 20.