The Indonesian national team coach, Shin Tae-yong, finally opened his mouth about why he called Persija Newsdelivers.com bomber, Aji Kusuma to the Garuda squad. He explained that he wanted to see his abilities first.
Aji Kusuma was called by Shin Tae-yong to strengthen the senior Indonesian national team at the FIFA Matchday event. The Garuda squad will face Turkmenistan at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium (GBT), Surabaya on September 8.
Shin Tae-yong called 24 players for the match. Interestingly, several names called up had minimal playing minutes at the club, including Aji Kusuma.
In the 2023/2024 BRI Liga 1 competition, Aji has appeared eight times for Persija, with six of them only as a substitute.
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Having only started once, the 24 year old striker still has 0 goals and 0 assists for Persija this season.
Shin Tae-yong himself admitted that he deliberately called up many players in preparation against Turkmenistan. He said, if the player’s abilities allow it, he will be included in the match.
“Indeed, the teams were divided into two (the senior national team squad for FIFA Matchday and the U-23 National Team for the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup Qualification), so more people could be registered. “Maybe if we discuss it in more detail, we won’t be able to confirm whether these players can be registered or not,” said Shin Tae-yong to the media crew, Friday (1/9).
In fact, not only Aji Kusuma, Shin Tae-yong has not guaranteed that other players will be registered for the match against Turkmenistan.
In essence, the coach from South Korea wants to see the players’ abilities first in training before the match day against Turkmenistan on September 8.
“So maybe we will try practicing first, after that we will confirm who is registered,” concluded the tactician.
