Young team pull Indonesian football back from tragedy and humiliation
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Indonesia's Under-20 team after Fifa announced the relocation of the 2023 Under-20 World Cup football tournament.
PHOTO: AFP
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PHNOM PENH – Indonesia’s men can restore pride to the country’s football when they contest a major regional final on Tuesday, following a deadly stadium disaster and humiliation at losing the rights to host the Under-20 World Cup.
They booked their place in the final against Thailand at the SEA Games with a pulsating 3-2 win over holders Vietnam.
Gold for Indonesia would be their first in men’s SEA Games football, which is contested between Under-22 teams.
Taufany Muslihuddin was Indonesia’s semi-final hero, hitting a 96th-minute winner in Phnom Penh on Saturday.
Underlining what it means to Indonesian football after a turbulent seven months, Taufany collapsed face down on the grass and shook with emotion, before his teammates piled on top of him.
When the final whistle blew, Indonesian players and officials celebrated wildly on the pitch.
After the win, which came despite having a man sent off on the hour mark, head coach Indra Sjafri said that the final was “the moment we’ve been waiting for to wake up Indonesian football”.
Match-winner Taufany echoed that sentiment, noting the “momentum of recovery for Indonesia and the players”.
Indonesia, who are ranked 149th in the world, have qualified for the expanded Asian Cup, which takes place in Qatar in January and February.
The last time they contested the regional showpiece was in 2007 as co-hosts.
Signs of success on the pitch come during a dark time for Indonesian football.
In October 2022, 135 people were killed at a stadium
Tragedy was followed by ignominy when world governing body Fifa relocated the U-20 World Cup from Indonesia to Argentina because of opposition in the Muslim-majority nation to Israel’s participation.
That meant Indonesia lost their automatic qualifying spot for the tournament.
Indonesia may have beaten SEA Games holders Vietnam and won all four group games with just one goal conceded.
But they face a stern test in the final at Phnom Penh’s Olympic Stadium. Sixteen-time winners Thailand eased past Myanmar in the semi-finals, winning 3-0.
Despite a fervent fan base, Indonesia, a country of 270 million people, has had little success in football.
They have qualified only once for the World Cup, in 1938, as the Dutch East Indies.
The game in the country has long been dogged by mismanagement, rickety infrastructure and violence in the stands.
A gold medal will not solve those endemic problems overnight, but coach Sjafri said: “Hopefully this can serve as an encouragement, as a momentum for the Indonesian FA and Indonesian football.” AFP
