Merah Putih’s 'Must Win' Attitude Costs Local Talent
Time for some cliches. Indonesia is one of the largest countries in the world with a population of some 240 million people. It has a vibrant passionate domestic football scene and as visitors will often tell the game has great potential.
All of these are true. But Indonesia’s narrow 2-1 victory over South East Asian neighbor Myanmar in Sidoarjo on Monday highlights another truth, which may be harder to swallow.
Of the 17 players who featured for the Merah Putih in East Java, five were born on foreign shores. The captain for much of the game was a naturalized player, the goals came from naturalized players.
One Nation, One Team the banners proudly proclaim but Indonesia’s win was built on the sweat and toil of players born in the Netherlands, Uruguay, Germany, Nigeria and Cameroon. Truly unity in diversity but at what cost to the development of young players.
Interim coach Benny Dollo went into the game handing an international debut to Persipura Jayapura’s Bio Paulin, proud possessor of a new Indonesian passport.
The 30-year-old Cameroon-born defender first came to Indonesia when he was signed by Mitra Kukar in 2006 and has gone on to play an important role in the success of his club side since moving to Jayapura 12 months later.
Alongside Paulin at the back was Victor Igbonefo, a former teammate at Persipura but an Arema player since 2012. Naturalized in 2011, the 29 year old defender was making his ninth appearance for his adopted nation and took on the arm band when skipper Boaz Solossa was injured towards the end of the first half.
Rotterdam-born Raphael Maitimo was the third naturalized player in the starting XI against Myanmar.
After receiving a football education alongside the likes of Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie, Maitimo’s career saw him land in Indonesia during the short-lived Indonesian Premier League in 2011 when he signed for Bali De Vata and apart from a season back in his home country with Capelle, Indonesia has been home ever since.
Since making his debut in 2012 Maitimo, who will be playing for Sriwijaya in the Indonesia Super League this season, has played 16 times for Indonesia and scored four goals including the opener against Myanmar.
Coming off the bench were Cristian Gonzales and Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan. Gonzales was among the first of the foreign players to take up Indonesian citizenship, receiving his passport in 2010 after arriving in the country in 2003. The 38-year-old has since played 31 times and netted 13 goals, including the second against Myanmar.
Kim Jeffrey’s seven-minute cameo appearance towards the end of the game marked his international debut and was a just reward for a consistent spell with club side Pelita Bandung Raya last season.
But it is ironic that Indonesia was looking to foreign-born players to provide the goals against Myanmar, in Jakarta the national Under-23 team was competing in the AFC Under-23 Championship qualifiers.
With victories in its opening games against Timor Leste (5-0) and Brunei (2-0) the host went into its final game against South Korea level on points with its opponent.
But do the players in the squad, the likes of Muchlis Hadi and Ahmad Noviandani, have a realistic chance of getting into the full national team or will they see their paths blocked by the naturalized players?
It is a tough call. Players such as Andik Vermansyah, currently impressing fans at his Malaysian side Selangor, Patrich Wanggai and Ferdinand Sinaga were omitted from the Indonesian side, which under-performed in Vietnam at the Asean Football Federation Championships at the tail end of 2014.
Sinaga, signed by coach Dollo’s club side Sriwijaya for 2015, was recalled for the friendly against Myanmar and started the game but the 26-year-old Wanggai and the 23-year-old Vermansyah continue to miss out on representing their country while
Titus Bonai, 26, has been all forgotten when it comes to the national team.
Fans with long memories will recall how impressive Bonai and Wanggai were at the SEA Games back in 2011. Many predicted back then they could form the nucleus of Indonesia’s attack for years to come but it hasn’t happened.
No doubt Under-23 coach Aji Santoso will have his current batch of young players fully focused on their own busy schedule this year but the question remains: how many of the current squad will get the opportunity to represent Indonesia at the highest level or will we see more naturalized players drafted in to plug the perceived gaps?
Will Indonesians see their paths blocked by naturalized players?
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