Suara.com – In the 2023 Asian Cup which will take place in January 2024, the Indonesian national team squad will be strengthened by a combination of hereditary and naturalized players, including names such as Jordi Amat, Justin Hubner, Shayne Pattynama, Elkan Baggott and Marc Klok.
Although the squad is strengthened by several players with proven talent, coach Shin Tae-yong's decision appears to exclude some of them.
According to a report from Suara.com, there are three promising talents who are not included in the coach's plans, including two who have been the backbone of the young age group of the Garuda Team and two others who have excelled in League 1.
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This situation creates a paradox considering that there is talent that has not been fully explored.
Frets Butuan, a winger who has shone since 2018 and played for PSMS Medan, moved to Persib Bandung in 2019.
Even though it has the potential to help the Indonesian national team, Frets does not seem to have succeeded in attracting the attention of the Garuda Team coach over the last five seasons.
At Persib, Frets' performance experienced ups and downs, but he was known as a winger who could trouble opponents when he was at the top of his game.
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His best year was recorded in the 2021/2022 season with 19 appearances and scoring three goals. Now playing for Malut United, there is still an opportunity for Frets to re-enter the Indonesian national team circle if he can return to playing at the highest level.
Ilham Udin Armaiyn, an alumnus of the golden generation of the U-19 Indonesian National Team coached by Indra Sjafri, last played in a friendly match against Mauritius in 2018, at that time under the direction of coach Danurwindo.
His career experienced a decline after returning from the Malaysian League with Selangor FA and playing for Bhayangkara FC.
Even though he again showed his best abilities with PSM Makassar in the 2022 season, Shin Tae-yong did not include him in the squad, even after Ilham joined Arema FC in the 2023 season.
Now, at the age of 27, Ilham decided to play in League 2 with Malut United as captain, showing impressive performance and high dedication.
With his experience, Ilham still has the opportunity to compete with young players in the Indonesian National Team.
Septian David Maulana, who is expected to be the future playmaker for the Indonesian National Team and is the result of the SAD program which sent young players to Uruguay.
Since joining the Indonesian National Team from 2014 to 2022, he has shown significant development as an attacking midfielder, especially when he became the first choice at Mitra Kukar and then became captain at PSIS Semarang.
However, with the arrival of naturalized players and coach Shin Tae-yong's policy of preferring young players, Septian's position began to shift.
The last time he was called up for a training camp in 2021, he was not selected for the 2023 Asian Cup Qualification squad. Shin Tae-yong prioritized young players such as Marselino Ferdinan and Ricky Kambuaya, which caused Septian to no longer be called up to strengthen the Indonesian national team since then.