Indonesia U-23 Crushes Brunei Darussalam, Gerald Vanenburg's Sweet Debut

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - Gerald Vanenburg has finally broken the curse of never winning as a coach in his debut match, leading Indonesia to a resounding 8-0 victory over Brunei Darussalam in the Group A qualifying round of the ASEAN U-23 Championship at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, on Tuesday (15/7/2025) evening WIB.

Having made three previous debuts as a coach, Vanenburg has failed to secure a victory on all three occasions. This occurred during his tenures with TSV 1860 Munich, Helmond Sport, and FC Eindhoven. The curse of failing to win in his debut match as a coach finally ended when he took charge of the Indonesian U-23 football team.

However, Vanenburg's first victory in his debut match cannot be separated from the significant gap in quality between Indonesia and Brunei. Indonesia indeed excels in all aspects, but still faces challenges in attacking creativity.

Facing the U-23 team of Brunei, which is currently on a negative trend after failing to win in their last 24 matches, Vanenburg immediately accelerated by deploying a full-strength squad from the early minutes. The Dutch coach fielded naturalized striker Jens Raven as the spearhead. Raven was flanked by Muhammad Rayhan Hanan and Rahmat Arjuna, who played as wingers.

In the midfield, Robi Darwis is tasked with maintaining the rhythm of the game in his role as a defensive midfielder. Meanwhile, Toni Firmansyah and Arkhan Fikri are pushed slightly forward in their roles as the attacking creators for the Indonesia U-23 team.

Vanenburg also does not underestimate Brunei by placing Captain Muhammad Ferarri at the heart of the defense. Vanenburg's most surprising decision is entrusting the goalkeeper position to Muhammad Ardiansyah. The PSM Makassar goalkeeper replaces Cahya Supriadi, who was previously the main goalkeeper for the "Garuda Muda."

Vanenburg's decision to reduce full strength from the start paid off with a quick goal from Raven just four minutes into the match. Raven performed exceptionally well thanks to his above-average finishing. The player, who will represent Bali United next season, also showed great effort in pursuing the ball.

Thanks to his hard work, Raven successfully scored four additional goals in the first half and one goal in the second half. Meanwhile, two other goals for Indonesia were contributed by Arkhan Fikri and Rayhan Hannan.

The majority of Indonesia's goals began with an attempt to initiate an attack from the right side, occupied by Rayhan and wing-back Achmad Maulana Syarif. Vanenburg recognized the biggest weakness of Brunei on their left defense, which was guarded by Irfan Chin. Therefore, he instructed his players to exploit Chin, who appeared very hesitant in guarding Brunei's back line.

Brunei's coach, Aminuddin Jumat, employed a formation of four parallel defenders to counter Indonesia's attacks. However, this strategy did not work smoothly on the field as Brunei's four defenders were so weak in their defense that they were easily penetrated.

Brunei's defenders employed a medium defensive line but were slow to close down the wide spaces between the defenders and the goalkeeper. The Brunei defenders' poor coordination was further exacerbated by their defenders' inability to transition from zonal marking to man-to-man marking.

Despite being able to score many goals, Brunei's fragile defense still managed to test the creativity of Indonesia's attacking line. At certain moments, Brunei's defenders crowded the area in the final third of their defense, resulting in a blockage of Indonesia's attacking efforts.

Broadly speaking, the efforts of the "Garuda Muda" attack heavily rely on the speed of the wingers. Meanwhile, progressive passes from the midfield area, which require creativity and courage, have relatively not been observed.

If not improved, Indonesia's attacking efforts could easily be thwarted when facing opponents of a higher quality than Brunei. Diversifying the focal point of the attack is also important to confront more cunning opponents. This way, Indonesia's attacking patterns become less predictable.

On the other hand, mistakes in passing, even when not under pressure, are still frequently made by Indonesian players. These weaknesses must be addressed as Indonesia faces the Philippines and Malaysia in the upcoming matches.

Regarding the Philippines, a heavy task awaits Vanenburg in the next match. The Philippines, initially considered underdogs, managed to create an upset by defeating the favored team, Malaysia, 2-0, in the opening match of Group A at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Both goals for the Philippines were scored by Otu Abang Banatao.

The victory places the Philippines as the temporary runner-up in Group A, behind Indonesia. If they defeat the Philippines, Indonesia will widen their lead over the group runner-up, significantly increasing their chances of advancing to the knockout stage.