New Persija coach Shin Tae-yong responded to the championship target assigned to him after being appointed as the new head coach of the Kemayoran Tigers for the next three years.
Persija's ambitions to win the title this season were dashed under coach Mauricio Souza, who could only lead this "Brazilian-flavored" team to a third-place finish behind champions Persib Bandung and runners-up Borneo FC.
"My target is definitely to achieve good results. And I will do my best to make sure Persija Jakarta fans want to see or watch Persija Jakarta play again," said STY in his official introductory.
"So by becoming one with the players, it's possible to be in the best position in Indonesia," he said.
STY, who was the coach of the Indonesian national team for five years, said that his time coaching the Garuda team and living in Jakarta during that time were the strongest factors in his acceptance of the Kemayoran Tigers' offer.
"I previously coached the Indonesian national team for five years, so I'm very familiar with playing at Jakarta's stadiums, GBK and JIS. So, I'm probably most familiar with Persija. And at that time, I also felt that Persija Jakarta was the best team in Indonesia," said the 57-year-old coach.
"There are indeed many good teams in the Indonesian Super League, such as Persib, Persija, Borneo, and Bali United. But with the meeting with Persija, we're eager to challenge them in the Indonesian Super League, whether it's in terms of performance or system. We also want to help and develop Indonesian football further," he said.
Meanwhile, on the same occasion, Persija President Mohammad Prapanca was quite optimistic that STY would meet the big target of the Kemayoran Tigers, who last became champions in 2018.
This belief is based on the fact that the South Korean coach will be coaching the Persija team, which includes players he coached during his time with the Indonesian national team, such as captain Rizky Ridho, Shayne Pattynama, Dony Tri Pamungkas, and Rayhan Hannan.
"We discussed with Coach Shin Tae-yong that, of course, with the current squad, most of it was already under Coach Shin Tae-yong during the under-19 era. So, I'm very confident that the process will be faster," said Prapanca.
"And of course, Coach Shin Tae-yong will also complement the shortcomings of the current Persija team," he said.
Furthermore, regarding the three-year contract given to STY, Prapanca explained that the coach who once defeated the German national team in the 2018 World Cup with the South Korean national team will be involved in long-term projects while at Persija.
"Yes, we're in the process, right? So, of course, Coach Shin also needs to be involved in Persija's infrastructure, including the development of our young players, and we're all trying to accelerate this over the next three years," Prapanca said.
