Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The General
When I first got to meet players closely here in Indonesia I would invariably ask which of their contemporaries did they admire the most. Invariably they would reel off a list of two or three names and the one name that appeared the most was Eduard Ivakdalam, the long serving inspirational captain of Persipura.
Of course at that time I was struggling to know players names, still am truth be told, and I hadn't progressed much beyond Bambang Pamungkas, Boaz Solossa and Budi Sudarsono. So whenever I watched Persipura I would look out for Ivakdalam to see how good he was.
To be fair to the guy he was already early 30s and any pace had long gone but what was impressive was the way he carried himself. He patrolled the midfield, did the easy pass and had an awareness of his team mates' movement further forward.
It now looks like Edu's playing days at the top are over as Persipura didn't seem to be in any hurry to re-engage him for another season and he is now, I understand, training with Perseman Manaokwari where, you may recall, his former Persipura team mate Jendri Pitoy is now plying his trade.
It's so typical of the understated nature of Indonesians that a player who would be described as a legend in most other countries is allowed to almost sneak away quietly and with dignity rather than get wrapped up in a sea of tribute books, t shirts and balloons.
# posted by Me @ 9:29 AM 
