Friday, March 14, 2008
Ex Arsenal striker black listed
Christopher Wreh was one of Arsene Wenger's early signings back in 1997, almost slipping in under the radar of more high profile buys like Marc Overmars and Gilles Grimandi. Wreh didnt spend too long with the Arse, he scored just five goals for the club in his couple of years at Highbury but what vital goals. It was his winner that beat Wolves in the FA Cup semi final and took us to Wembley. It was his goal that beat Wimbledon and kept us on track for the Premier League during that unbeaten run.
But he was never more than a bit part player with the club and soon moved on, never reaching the heights in a masala of middling clubs, soon fading from the scene.
I was surprised then last year to hear the Liberian had turned up in Indonesia where he had trials with PSMS Medan. Things didn't work out there and again he fell from the headlines only to turn up on the first day of the new season in Manokwari, a town on the far eastern Indonesian island of Papua, playing for Perseman.
Perseman had won the regional second division and they placed their hopes on their promsing youngsters as well as old hands like Wreh who was brought in to given them some potency in the final third. The team duly struggled but Wreh did ok netting five times in the first half of the season.
Come the lengthy break brought about by the Asian Cup which Indonesia co hosted Perseman played a friendly match in Jakarta against my local side, Persija. Interupting valuable beer time I wandered down the stadium to catch the game and hopefully sight of an ex Arsenal player...something that doesn't happenso often in the less than heady circles of Indonesian football. Wreh wasn't playing!
Things went quiet for a while though I did hear that he had had trials with Persija but had not been taken on.
Then early this year I was talking to a former team mate of his from Perseman, Charles Uchenna, who told me that Chris was still in Indonesia, in fact not far from where I lived, and looking for a new club.
At the same time I was talking to the people down at the local Arsenal Soccer School and they asked me if I knew of any Arsenal players in the area. My initial thought was Gus Caeser who works in Hong Kong but then I remembered Chris who had played such a vital role back in the 1998 double season. The soccer school wanted to talk to him. I wanted to talk to him for the Gooner. I got his number from Charles and made contact.
Chris got back and said he would love to talk to us both so I set up a meet but the next day he texted me to cancel it as he was off to Singapore to renew his visa. Fair enough, it's something we all have to do once in a while. We fixed a day and time for when he returned. He also cancelled the soccer school.
On the day of our rearranged appointment he again cancelled, citing the rain. Once gaain he cancelled the soccer school.
That Saturday the Arsenal Supporter's Club here in Jakarta were getting together to watch a game at a local bar and I invited Chris to come down and join us as I'm sure the fans would love to meet him.
Several phone calls later he finally arrived half way through the first half and sat in a corner of the bar with a couple of friends, reluctant to meet the local fans. One lad had brought a book of Arsenal players and we found Chris' biography and asked him to sign it which he did.
Then he was gone! He had arranged to meet the soccer school the next day so I asked to interview him after that and away he went. But I wasn't sure. At the soccer school neither were they. Wreh's last game had been April 2007. We were now in January 08, he hadn't played for a while, we had thought he would welcome the chance to get involved with some coaching. Apparently not.
That Sunday we both waited at the club for Wreh to turn up, neither of us optimistic. He never showed.
The next I heard of Chris was when the Indonesian FA released a list of 70 foreign players in three categories who had been black listed. Christopher Wreh's name was in the first category, cannot play in the upcoming season.
10 years ago he was a major part of an Arsenal side that Arsene Wenger was moulding and he played his part in building for our current success. Now, he is banned from playing in Indonesia.
But he was never more than a bit part player with the club and soon moved on, never reaching the heights in a masala of middling clubs, soon fading from the scene.
I was surprised then last year to hear the Liberian had turned up in Indonesia where he had trials with PSMS Medan. Things didn't work out there and again he fell from the headlines only to turn up on the first day of the new season in Manokwari, a town on the far eastern Indonesian island of Papua, playing for Perseman.
Perseman had won the regional second division and they placed their hopes on their promsing youngsters as well as old hands like Wreh who was brought in to given them some potency in the final third. The team duly struggled but Wreh did ok netting five times in the first half of the season.
Come the lengthy break brought about by the Asian Cup which Indonesia co hosted Perseman played a friendly match in Jakarta against my local side, Persija. Interupting valuable beer time I wandered down the stadium to catch the game and hopefully sight of an ex Arsenal player...something that doesn't happenso often in the less than heady circles of Indonesian football. Wreh wasn't playing!
Things went quiet for a while though I did hear that he had had trials with Persija but had not been taken on.
Then early this year I was talking to a former team mate of his from Perseman, Charles Uchenna, who told me that Chris was still in Indonesia, in fact not far from where I lived, and looking for a new club.
At the same time I was talking to the people down at the local Arsenal Soccer School and they asked me if I knew of any Arsenal players in the area. My initial thought was Gus Caeser who works in Hong Kong but then I remembered Chris who had played such a vital role back in the 1998 double season. The soccer school wanted to talk to him. I wanted to talk to him for the Gooner. I got his number from Charles and made contact.
Chris got back and said he would love to talk to us both so I set up a meet but the next day he texted me to cancel it as he was off to Singapore to renew his visa. Fair enough, it's something we all have to do once in a while. We fixed a day and time for when he returned. He also cancelled the soccer school.
On the day of our rearranged appointment he again cancelled, citing the rain. Once gaain he cancelled the soccer school.
That Saturday the Arsenal Supporter's Club here in Jakarta were getting together to watch a game at a local bar and I invited Chris to come down and join us as I'm sure the fans would love to meet him.
Several phone calls later he finally arrived half way through the first half and sat in a corner of the bar with a couple of friends, reluctant to meet the local fans. One lad had brought a book of Arsenal players and we found Chris' biography and asked him to sign it which he did.
Then he was gone! He had arranged to meet the soccer school the next day so I asked to interview him after that and away he went. But I wasn't sure. At the soccer school neither were they. Wreh's last game had been April 2007. We were now in January 08, he hadn't played for a while, we had thought he would welcome the chance to get involved with some coaching. Apparently not.
That Sunday we both waited at the club for Wreh to turn up, neither of us optimistic. He never showed.
The next I heard of Chris was when the Indonesian FA released a list of 70 foreign players in three categories who had been black listed. Christopher Wreh's name was in the first category, cannot play in the upcoming season.
10 years ago he was a major part of an Arsenal side that Arsene Wenger was moulding and he played his part in building for our current success. Now, he is banned from playing in Indonesia.
Labels: Christopher Wreh Arsenal Perseman Indonesia
# posted by Me @ 5:02 AM 
