TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Jakarta football club, Persija, has officially appointed Shin Tae-yong (STY) as their new head coach on a three-year contract, starting from the upcoming 2026/2027 Super League season.
STY, who replaces Mauricio Souza at the helm of the Kemayoran Tigers, is a familiar face in the country, having previously managed the Indonesian national team for five years between 2020 and 2025.
“Hopefully, our choice will be a turning point for Persija’s future,” Persija Director Mohamad Prapanca stated during a press conference introducing STY at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in North Jakarta on Monday, June 8, as reported by Antara.
Reflecting on when discussions regarding a coaching change first began, Prapanca revealed that the recruitment process started as the BRI Super League season entered its final 10 weeks.
At that time, Persija, though still on track for the championship, hit a rough patch with a three-match winless streak, picking up two draws against Borneo FC (2-2) and Dewa United (1-1), alongside a narrow defeat to Bhayangkara Presisi Lampung FC (2-3).
These three consecutive slip-ups ultimately forced the Kemayoran Tigers to settle for third place in the final standings with 71 points, trailing eight points behind champions Persib Bandung and runners-up Borneo FC.
“Our coach at the time, Coach Mauricio, had given his best, but we had set much higher targets,” Prapanca explained.
During his five-year tenure with the Indonesian national team, despite not lifting a trophy, STY guided the Garuda squad to historic milestones, including securing Asian Cup qualifications across three age groups, reaching the round of 16 at the 2023 Asian Cup, placing fourth in the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, advancing to the third round of the 2027 World Cup Qualifiers to book a spot in the 2027 Asian Cup, and propelling the national team’s global ranking from 173rd to 129th.
Following the conclusion of his contract with the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) in early January last year, STY transitioned to a corporate role, serving as Vice President of the Korea Football Association (KFA) for 11 months.
The South Korean coach then moved on to spend four months as Director of Football at Seongnam FC, before most recently taking charge of Ulsan HD for a brief two-month stint that concluded with a record of two wins, four draws, and four losses in 10 matches under his stewardship.
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