Emil Audero, One of Three New Naturalized Players for the Indonesian National Team

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – PSSI General Chairman Erick Thohir confirmed that three diaspora players who have begun the naturalization process to defend the Indonesian national team. Emil Audero (28), Joey Pelupessy (31), and Dean James (24) will be able to defend the “Garuda” squad in the match against Australia, March 20.

"The three players' letters (documents) are safe. I have reported to President Prabowo and he welcomed it. Next week we will process it so that in March they can play," said Erick explaining the reason for the naturalization of three new naturalized players for the Indonesian national team at the GBK Arena, Jakarta, Saturday (22/2/2025).

In addition, Erick will also meet with Commission X of the DPR, Monday (24/2/2025), to discuss the national team program. The goal is that the naturalization process of the three national team candidate players can run quickly.

Meanwhile, Emil is currently playing for Italian Serie B club Palermo on loan from Italian Serie A club Como. Since joining in the second half of this season, the goalkeeper born in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, has played for Palermo twice, conceding four goals.

The Juventus Academy graduate will strengthen Indonesia's goalkeeping depth. Erick revealed that he had discussed with the current number one goalkeeper of the Indonesian National Team, Maarten Paes, before announcing the plan to naturalize Emil, who holds an Italian passport.

In his professional career, Emil has defended Juventus, Venezia, Sampdoria, Inter Milan, Como, and Palermo. He has recorded 299 matches in Serie A and Serie B Italy with a collection of playing time of 26,899 minutes.

Emil has already recorded 76 clean sheets. The clean sheet record is equivalent to 25 percent of his total appearances.

In addition, Erick also announced two new players for the Garuda squad. They are Joey who plays as a defensive midfielder and Dean who can fill the left wing back position. Joey is currently playing for the Belgian League Division 2 team, Lommel SK, while Dean plays for the highest caste team in the Dutch League, Go Ahead Eagles.

The point is, players join not because there is commercialization. They join because they believe our program (for the national team) is serious, so they join because of their heart.

"Some positions need strengthening, one of them is goalkeeper. Maarten Paes has been extraordinary, but competition is needed for Maarten. He welcomes that," said Erick.

"Maarten is a key player at FC Dallas, but in football there is certainly a risk of injury. For that, we decided to strengthen the goalkeepers. So, we have two quality goalkeepers. For the third goalkeeper, a young goalkeeper will be chosen to learn," added Erick.

When asked about Emil's family's rejection to defend Indonesia in the past, Erick said that players have dynamics in their lives. They also need careful consideration and thinking to make crucial decisions, such as defending Indonesia.

"The point is, players join not because of commercialization. They join because they believe our program (for the national team) is serious, so they join because of their hearts," said Erick.

Meanwhile, Joey was decided to be naturalized after the process for Jairo Riedewald ran into obstacles. Erick revealed that the documents that were the initial requirements for Jairo Reidewald to change citizenship from the Netherlands to Indonesia were incomplete.

If forced, Erick continued, Jairo's naturalization process will be long. In addition to the documents, the Belgian club player, Antwerp, will also have problems because he has recorded three appearances with the Dutch national team in the 2015 period. This makes Jairo's application for a transfer from the KNVB to PSSI will be rejected by FIFA at the first opportunity.

Jairo appeared in three Euro 2016 qualifying games when the Netherlands faced Turkey, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic in September-October 2015. In those three games, he recorded 219 appearances.

"Jairo has been very welcoming (to the naturalization plan), but the letters are not yet strong. We have invited several lawyers to discuss but have not found (a naturalization opportunity). We do not want FIFA to reject Jairo's application, so that it will reduce FIFA's trust in PSSI," said Erick.

It is no wonder that Joey was decided to be naturalized to strengthen the midfield sector. Currently, Indonesia has Thom Haye, Ivar Jenner, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Ricky Kambuaya, and Marc Klok. However, Erick considers Indonesia's midfield strength is not strong enough.

"We need five midfielders. We tried to invite Joey and he agreed. He is very much needed, especially since he has long experience playing in the Netherlands, England, and Belgium. I think Joey can strengthen the midfield which is currently lacking," said the Minister of SOEs.

Joey is a player of Maluku descent who plays as a defensive midfielder. Previously, he had appeared in two matches for the Dutch U-20 team.

The 31-year-old is a graduate of FC Twente's academy and played for Heracles Almelo before moving to English Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.

After four years at Sheffield, Joey moved to Turkish club Giresunspor. After a season in Turkey, he returned to the Netherlands to play for FC Groningen. In the middle of this season, he joined Lommel in Belgium.

Meanwhile, Dean is a player with thick Indonesian blood. His grandfather came from Semarang, Central Java, then his mother was born in Surabaya, East Java. Dean started his professional career with Volendam, then joined Go Ahead Eagles since the 2023-2024 season. In the 2024-2025 season, Dean had his best season by appearing in 17 matches with a collection of one goal and two assists.

Despite already having Calvin Verdonk and Pratama Arhan in the left wing-back position, Erick said, Dean is needed to strengthen the Indonesian national team to add options in that position. In addition, Dean can also play in the left midfield sector.