Throwing Away Pragmatism, Gerald Vanenburg's Philosophical Trait

In every interview session, Gerald Vanenburg almost always mentions victory as his target in each match of the ASEAN U-23 Championship. This makes Vanenburg appear pragmatic.

However, the Indonesia U-23 coach is not a figure like Massimiliano Allegri, who considers victory, even by a narrow margin, as the sole objective. Winning is indeed necessary to meet the target of becoming champions of the ASEAN U-23 Championship on home soil.

The target to win does not automatically obscure the intention to present entertaining football and to develop players to become more mature through competition. Vanenburg adheres to this principle. He educates young Indonesian players to be bolder in ball control and to play attractively.

The evidence lies in the statistics of "Garuda Muda" after playing two matches in the group stage. Among the 10 teams participating in the ASEAN U-23 Championship, Indonesia is one of the teams with the highest number of accurate shots, passes, and average ball possession.

In terms of the number of accurate shots, Indonesia leads with 21 attempts. It is two attempts ahead of Malaysia, which ranks second with 19. The majority of the shooting attempts recorded by Indonesia and Malaysia came from matches against Brunei Darussalam, the weakest team in Group A.

Similarly, the statistics regarding average ball possession reflect this. Indonesia recorded an average ball possession of 74 percent, surpassing Malaysia with 73.2 percent.

The number of passes by Indonesia also surpasses that of Malaysia. Garuda Muda recorded 1,143 successful passes out of 1,270 attempts. This results in Indonesia's successful pass percentage reaching 90 percent.

The factor of competing against Brunei is indeed the main reason why Indonesia and Malaysia can record such statistical advantages. However, Indonesia still managed to perform better compared to Malaysia.

In addition, when facing the Philippines, which has players of significantly higher quality than Brunei, the Indonesian players also discarded pragmatism.

Instead of appearing passive or playing it safe, Vanenburg instructed his players to continue to assault the Philippine defense. The dominance in ball possession of up to 67 percent and seven accurate shots compared to one from the Philippines serves as evidence of this.

Although the available data is still provisional, as Vietnam and Thailand in other groups have only played one match, Indonesia's statistics can be used as an illustration of the characteristics of the style of play that Vanenburg is trying to develop. The statistical advantages displayed by Indonesia are hard to find in teams that make victory their sole objective in participating in the tournament.

There are two factors underlying why Vanenburg emphasizes to his players the importance of playing more boldly and attractively. First, touching the ball more frequently is crucial for young players.

This understanding was also embraced by Byun Sung-hwan while coaching South Korea during the U-17 World Cup held in Indonesia in 2023. Byun was willing to take the risk of being eliminated in the group stage without earning a single point as long as his team could perform attractively and challenge their opponents.

The final result did not favor South Korea, but they were able to deliver an entertaining performance against a team of superior quality. Despite the loss, South Korea managed to put up a strong resistance, as reflected in the number of accurate shots and ball possession dominance.

"We will remain true to our style since the first match, and I will take responsibility for the results," said Byun at that time.

Byun has always believed that by touching and mastering the ball more frequently, young South Korean players will continue to develop. Making victory the sole objective is a misguided approach when applied to youth football teams.

The second factor is that Vanenburg sees the ASEAN U-23 Championship as a means to mature his team before competing in the U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers next September. If the ASEAN U-23 Championship trophy were the only goal, Vanenburg would not need to bother refining his team to be adept at building attacks and creating opportunities.

He is also willing to exclude Marselino Ferdinan and Rafael Struick from his team. In fact, the presence of Marselino and Struick, who have significant experience in the senior team, would almost certainly enhance the strength of the Indonesia U-23 team. Thus, the path to winning the ASEAN U-23 Championship would certainly become more accessible.

"We will play in our own way. But I think the most important thing is that we have character because we do not (continuously) need all the same players. So I believe we are happy with this selection of players," said Vanenburg.

In the match against the Philippines, Vanenburg revamped the defense by fielding Kadek Arel, Alfharezzi Buffon, and Kakang Rudianto. Here, he attempted to provide fair playing time to all players, not solely relying on Muhammad Ferarri and Brandon Scheunemann as Indonesia's last line of defense.

In attack, Vanenburg also withdrew Jens Raven and entrusted Hokky Caraka with his services. A decision that raised questions considering Raven's performance, which included a double hat trick in the victory over Brunei.

It's hard to imagine Vanenburg daring to rotate players extensively if victory is Garuda Muda's sole goal.