Arrival five young players from Brazil the three League 1 2020 teams, namely Persija Jakarta, Arema FC, and Madura United shocked many parties.
The public was even more confused when the President of Madura United said that the players from the country of samba were deliberately brought in to be naturalized by PSSI.
The five Brazilian players include Thiago Pereira and Maike Henrique Irine de Lima (Persija), Pedro Bartoli and Hugo Guilherme Correa Grillo (Arema FC), and Robert Junior Rodrigues Santos (Madura United).
The five of them were reportedly brought in to be naturalized and are expected to be able to lift the performance of the Indonesian national team which will compete in the 2021 U-20 World Cup.
Not wanting this issue to become a polemic, the Indonesian national team coach Shin Tae-yong spoke up.
Shin admitted that he had indeed opened up opportunities for naturalized players to enter the Indonesian national team squad at the U-20 World Cup.
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However, these players must have Indonesian ancestry from their parents.
“Looking for naturalized players who have Indonesian blood. So for the development of Indonesian football, these players are needed and needed. (We) are looking for,” said Shin Tae-yong.
“For that (naturalization of Brazilian players), there is no thought at all,” said the South Korean coach.
Denial also came from the PSSI Technical Director, Indra Sjafri. According to Indra, the arrival of five young Brazilian players to the three League 1 teams had nothing to do with PSSI and the National Team.
“Regarding players who come, PSSI can’t control it. So it’s impossible for us to call players whose status is not clear. There are FIFA regulations that must be obeyed, so we can’t (naturalize) carelessly,” said Indra.
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