Shin Tae-yong

Shin Tae-yong (; born 11 October 1970) is a South Korean football manager and former professional player. He is currently the head coach of Super League (Indonesia) club Persija Jakarta. He is the first man in history to win the AFC Champions League (Asian Club Championship) as both player and manager, having won the 1995 tournament as a player and the 2010 tournament as the manager with Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma.

Club career After graduating from Yeungnam University, Shin spent 12 seasons playing for Ilhwa Chunma. He won the K League Young Player of the Year Award in 1992, the first year of his professional career.

He could have become a one-club man, but finished his playing career in Australia with the Queensland Roar in the A-League.

International career Shin played 23 international matches including at the 1996 AFC Asian Cup for the South Korea national team.

Style of play As a player, he was an attacking midfielder. He earned the nickname "Fox of the Ground" by clearly distinguishing when passing and dribbling with sensual and intelligent play.

Managerial career Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma In 2009, Shin became the caretaker manager of Seongnam, leading the team to second place in both the 2009 K League and the 2009 Korean FA Cup, though suffered from a lack of funds.

South Korea

In August 2014, he became the assistant coach of the South Korea national team. Under Shin, South Korea reached the Asian Cup final for the first time in 27 years. South Korea's manager at that time was Uli Stielike, but the actual coaching role was performed by Shin, who took charge of the tactics and training of the team.

Shin also managed the South Korea under-23 team at the same time, and participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics. South Korea won their group by acquiring 7 points against Germany, Mexico, and Fiji, but they were surprisingly elimininated by Honduras in the quarter-finals.

On 22 November 2016, Shin was appointed manager of the South Korea under-20 team to prepare for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup on home soil. Therefore, he left the senior team to concentrate on the under-20 team. At the World Cup, South Korea finished second in their group with 6 points and advanced to the knockout stage, but lost to Portugal in the round of 16.

After Shin left the South Korean senior team, Stielike made poor results in qualifiers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and was eventually fired by the Korea Football Association. On 4 July 2017, Shin became the manager of the senior team to replace Stielike. In December, he won the 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, beating arch-rivals Japan in the final fixture 4–1. Despite two goalless draws, South Korea under Shin also obtained qualification to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. They were drawn in the same group against Sweden, Mexico and defending champions Germany. South Korea lost 1–0 to Sweden and 2–1 to Mexico, but surprised everyone by defeating Germany 2–0.

Indonesia On 28 December 2019, the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) confirmed the appointment of Shin as the Indonesian national team's manager, replacing dismissed Simon McMenemy. He was handed a 4-year contract, while he also became the first South Korean in Indonesia's managerial history.

2021–2023: Regenerating the Team Garuda Shin's start in Indonesia was not good with Indonesia losing 4–0 and 5–0 to Vietnam and United Arab Emirates, respectively, in the second round of 2022 World Cup qualification. After the World Cup qualifiers, he led Indonesia with an average squad age of 23.8 years to the final of the 2020 AFF Championship. In June 2022, he led Indonesia to qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, ending Indonesia's 16-year absence from the competition, following a 2–1 win against Kuwait and a thumping 7–0 victory against Nepal on the final matchday to clinch qualification.

Prior to 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup which scheduled to be held in March 2023, Shin's request to take a number of Persija Jakarta and Persib Bandung players was rejected by their managers, Thomas Doll and Luis Milla. The players were called up to attend a training camp to prepare for the second appearance of the national team in the tournament. Shin was absent from a virtual meeting with the Persija management, which was regretted by Doll.

Shin became the first coach that managed to lead Indonesia national teams in three age levels from senior, under-23, and under-20 to all qualify for the AFC Asian Cup in their respective levels, with the under-23 team qualifying for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup for the first time.

2023 Asian Cup In the 2023 AFC Asian Cup tournament, Shin brought up the youngest squad out of all 24 teams with an average age of 23.81 years. Indonesia first faced off against Iraq in a 3–1 loss. In the second match, Indonesia faced off against Southeast Asian rivals Vietnam and defeated them 1–0. It was the first victory against Vietnam in 7 years. In the last group stage match, Indonesia lost 3–1 to Asia's top-ranked team, Japan. Despite two losses in the group stage, Indonesia managed to advance to the round of 16 by finishing as one of the four best third-place groups. Shin was able to lead Indonesia to the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in their history after their first appearance in 1996 AFC Asian Cup, thanks to Oman and Kyrgyzstan drew each other in group F. Indonesia faced off against Australia in the Round of 16 in a 4–0 loss.

2024 U-23 Asian Cup and Olympic play-off In April 2024, Indonesia participated at the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, making their debut in the competition. Indonesia were in Group B with Asia's powerhouses, Australia, Jordan and hosts Qatar. Despite a controversial 2–0 loss to Qatar, in which the referee seemed to be friendly toward the hosts, Indonesia managed to advance to the quarter-finals as group runners-up after winning 1–0 over Australia, and 4–1 over Jordan. After fulfilling the two targets set by PSSI which were to reach the knockout stages at both Asian Cup and U-23 Asian Cup, on 25 April, PSSI president Erick Thohir announced that Shin's contract was officially extended until 2027. Shin also faced his native South Korea in the quarter-finals, but defeated them 11–10 on penalties after a 2–2 draw for 120 minutes. He had three chances to lead Indonesia to the 2024 Summer Olympics, with the last two matches of the tournament and Afro-Asian play-off between fourth-placed teams left. However, Indonesia missed all three opportunities by losing 2–0 to Uzbekistan in the semi-finals, 2–1 to Iraq (after extra-time) in the third place match and 1–0 to Guinea in the Olympic qualifying play-off. They were dominated by the three opponents unlike in previous matches and failed to earn their first Olympic football berth since 1956. Shin was sent off for complaining strongly about the penalty awarded to Guinea for the second time during the last match. Finishing as Group G runners-up at the second round after a 2–0 loss to Iraq and a 2–0 win over the Philippines in June 2024, Indonesia became the only Southeast Asian nation among 18 qualified nations at the AFC third round.

Before the start of the third round, PSSI brought numerous naturalised players to the Indonesia national team. Drawn in the Group C with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and China, Shin and the new squad got six points in six matches including a 2–0 win over Saudi Arabia. Indonesia was ranked third in the group with four matches left, having the possibility of advancing directly to World Cup finals or AFC fourth round.

On 6 January 2025, however, PSSI sacked him to appoint a European manager, who can communicate with naturalised players smoothly. His dismissal caused emotional reactions among the Indonesian and South Korean media, with his son, Shin Jae-won commented that PSSI "will regret this", this was compounded by the potential candidate for Shin's replacement coach, Patrick Kluivert, who was considered unclean due to a gambling scandal. On 11 January, Shin publicly expressed his gratitude for the support he received from the Indonesian people, and expressed his hope that Indonesia would qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Shin's son, Jae-won, said he hoped that with this dismissal, his father would take a break and return to South Korea. He defeated Jeju SK, winning his first match at Ulsan, but failed to bring a win in seven subsequent K League 1 matches. He was in conflict with Ulsan players due to his modes of communication and training. In an interview after an AFC Champions League Elite match on 1 October, he mentioned a "reshuffle of the squad" without consulting the club's executives, embarrassing them. Afterwards, an anonymous player spread a picture of Shin's golf bag which was in the club's bus and the spread was followed by the rumor about Shin's indolence. On 9 October, he was sacked 65 days after his appointment. After leaving the club, he denied the rumor and revealed the club's executives communicated with only players when he was in conflict with some veteran players. Lee Chung-yong pretended to swing a golf club when performing his goal celebration in the first match after Shin's dismissal, intensifying the controversy. Additionally, Jung Seung-hyun claimed if Shin, who assaulted him, did the same behavior at an Arabian club, Shin would be immediately sacked. About this, Shin explained he was glad to see his pupil Jung after a long time, so slapped Jung's cheek for a lark. Shin said he is sorry to Jung, if he offended Jung, but denied that it was an assault. The club and players stopped criticising Shin after Shin's explanations. Fans were also confused about whether Shin's act was able to be seen as an assault after watching a video of the situation. In July 2026, the Korea Football Association concluded that Shin assaulted his players, but they did not announce concrete explanations and the level of disciplinary action. The level of disciplinary action against Shin was a one-year suspension in South Korean football, and was made public by Persija Jakarta which he managed at the time.

Persija Jakarta

On 8 June 2026, Shin was officially announced as the new head coach of Persija Jakarta on a three-years contract. He became the first South Korean coach in Liga Indonesia history.

Administrative career On 9 April 2025, Shin was appointed vice-president of the Korea Football Association by president Chung Mong-gyu, along with Kim Byung-ji and Park Hang-seo.

Personal life Shin has two children, Shin Jae-won and Shin Jae-hyeok.

In Indonesia, he is widely known by his initial "STY".

Shin was appointed as an advertising model of Nongshim, a South Korean food company, and made a dance video to promote instant noodle "Nongshim Bulgogi" in Indonesia. The song and his dance in the video became an internet meme after attracting attention in South Korea and Indonesia.

Shin received a Golden Visa from the Indonesian government.

In 2026, Shin Tae-yong appeared as a parent panelist alongside his son, footballer Shin Jae-hyeok, on the tvN Story/E Channel dating program When Our Kids Fall in Love 2(내 새끼의 연애2), which aired from February to April 2026.

Career statistics Club

International

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player Yeungnam University Korean President's Cup: 1991

Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma K League 1: 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003 Korean FA Cup: 1999 Korean League Cup: 1992, 2002, 2004 Korean Super Cup: 2002 Asian Club Championship: 1995 Asian Super Cup: 1996 Afro-Asian Club Championship: 1996 A3 Champions Cup: 2004

Individual K League Rookie of the Year: 1992 K League 1 Best XI: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 K League All-Star: 1995, 2002, 2003, 2004 K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 1995, 2001 K League 30th Anniversary Best XI: 2013

Manager Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma AFC Champions League: 2010 Korean FA Cup: 2011

Indonesia U23 AFF U-23 Championship runner-up: 2023 SEA Games bronze medal: 2021

Individual Korean FA Cup Best Manager: 2011 K League All-Star: 2012