Indonesian football billionaire president disagrees with head coach on complaints about ASEAN Cup schedule

The group stage of the tournament, which replaced the AFF Cup, follows a round-robin format introduced in 2022, with home and away matches happening every three days. Last year, Indonesia were eliminated in the semifinals after a 0-2 loss to Vietnam. This year, the team found themselves in the same group as Vietnam and suffered a 0-1 defeat to the opponent on Sunday at Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho Province.

Before and after the match, Shin expressed frustration with the tight schedule, claiming that playing a match every three days could "kill the players" and suggesting that the group stage should be held at a single venue, as in previous years.

However, Thohir does not share this view.

"European clubs also play a match every three days, with domestic games on the weekend and continental cups midweek," Thohir said.

PSSI president Erick Thohir (L) has dinner with Indonesia head coach Shin Tae-yong in April 2024. Photo by Instagram/@erickthohir

Indonesia brought a squad with mainly young players to the ASEAN Cup, with the average age of the starting lineup against Vietnam being just 20.6 years old. Thohir explained that the tight schedule was the reason for the selection of a young team.

"That's why we didn't pause the national championship and considered the ASEAN Cup a platform for young players to thrive," he said.

When asked about Shin's concerns, Thohir dismissed them, stating: "We agreed on the schedule before the tournament, so we must respect this commitment. We shouldn't complain too much about it."

Indonesia faced a disadvantage in the schedule, having only two days of rest before their match against Vietnam, three days fewer than the hosts. In the group stage, the only teams that did not face a schedule disadvantage were Thailand in Group A and Vietnam in Group B. The other teams are given three days fewer rest than their opponents.

In the next round on Wednesday, Laos will be in a similar situation when they play away in Myanmar with only two days of rest, while Myanmar have five days off, as they didn't play in the previous round.

At the same time, Vietnam will play the Philippines.