The Sydney Morning Herald
June 26, 2010
Indonesian
soccer fans' world of pain
TOM ALLARD
Robin Van Persie of the Netherlands scores the
opening goal against Cameroon. Photo: Getty Images
JAKARTA: As the tales of sporting triumph and despair
unfold at the World Cup
in South Africa,
there is - once again - no Indonesian team in action.
However, for the
residents Ambon, one of the Maluku Islands, it hardly matters. The
provincial capital, Ambon city, is festooned in orange and Dutch flags.
Victories by ''Der
Oranje'' have been met by hundreds of raucous fans letting off fireworks
and spilling on to the streets in cars and motorcycles to
celebrate.
Dutch East Indies players line up to face Hungary
during the 1938 World Cup.
Ambon has always had close links to the former
colonial power. Many Ambonese converted to Christianity and became
soldiers and administrators in the Dutch East Indies. But this year, the
emotional links between the Maluku Islands and the Dutch are even
stronger.
The Dutch team's
captain, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, as well as
defender John Heitinga and midfielder Demy de Zeeuw, all have Maluku
heritage, the descendants of the exodus from Ambon and surrounding
islands when Indonesia
became independent.
The presence of the three has provided a stark
reminder of the inadequacies of the local game.
In a country of 240
million people, where football is the dominant sporting passion and the
domestic league the most watched in Asia, Indonesia has no shortage of
naturally talented players and should be well-financed.
The early years of
football in the archipelago hinted at its great promise. The Dutch East
Indies competed in the 1938 World Cup,
losing its one game to the rampaging Hungarian team. At the 1956 Olympics,
Indonesia
drew with the mighty Soviet Union, the eventual champions, before
bowing out.
But its national team has been a dismal performer of
late.
Despite being by far
the most populous country in south-east Asia, it has never won the
region's biannual tournament, the Tiger Cup, and did not even qualify
for the 16-team Asian Cup,
to be held in Qatar
next year, after failing to win a game.
An Indonesian man, Hendri Mulyadi, became something
of a national hero when he invaded the pitch in the final qualifying
game against Oman, controlled the ball and dribbled it down the wing,
eluding security guards before getting a shot on goal.
''I was very
disappointed with the Indonesian national team,'' Mr Mulyadi explained.
''They never win; it's either lose or draw.''
The problem with
Indonesian football lies squarely with its inept and corrupt national
administration, known as the PSSI. It remains a fiefdom of apparatchiks
from Golkar, the political vehicle of the
former dictator Suharto.
''PSSI is the cartel of [chairman] Nurdin Halid,''
says Ian Rajagukguk, a football fan who is running a campaign using
social networking media to force change. ''Results of [the] Indonesian
League can be arranged, who should win and who should lose. So
Indonesian soccer now stands at the lowest ranking in Asia.''
Mr Nurdin, a Golkar
MP, has been implicated in a variety of corruption scandals, and even
ran the PSSI from prison when he served a two-year sentence for his
involvement in a cooking oil scam.
Its vice-chairman is Nirwan Bakrie, the younger
brother of the controversial tycoon and Golkar boss Aburizal Bakrie.
Proceeds from gate
takings at the well-attended local league are siphoned off by local
officials and police providing security while the television rights were
given out to cronies at a pittance, leaving little money for crucial
junior development.
A national congress to reform Indonesia football held
this year and presided over by the President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
was asked to
consider a variety of measures, including a new supervisory body to
oversee the PSSI.
Despite the heft of Dr Yudhoyono's presence, all the
reform recommendations were defeated and Mr Nurdin managed to quash a
proposed extraordinary motion to oust him. A golden opportunity was
lost.
''The problems with
Indonesian football mirror those in society,'' said one close observer
of the game. ''The old elites remain in control and football is their
playground.''
http://www.smh.com.au/world-cup-2010/world-cup-news/indonesian-soccer-fans-world-of-pain-20100625-z9q5.html
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