Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Where's The Famous Aremania?
They won the league last year with a spectacular 5-1 victory at the Bung Karno Stadium in front of 45,000 of their travelling supporters. They have been frquently crowned best supporters in the country. But now, when things ain't going so well what has happened to the famous Aremania? Check out their recent attendances with the most home games at the top. Their last two attendance have been bloody awful doubly so when we consider Arema are one of the teams who have to rely on their own resources to pay their way.
v Deltras 10,916 (local derby)
v PSPS 9,258
v Persija 32,597 (love in between fans)
v Persib 19,382
v Sriwijaya 20,052
v Persiwa 24,452
v Persipura 36,994
v Persiba 19,238
v Pelita Jaya 24,510
v Semen Padang 10,396
v Persijap 14,751
The fans didn't even give the AFC Champions League much of a warm welcome judging by these attendances
v Jeonbuk Motors 30,000
v Shandong 5,600
v Cerezo Osaka 4,000
The Arema fans have shown their loyalty in the past but when the chips are down they do seem to fade away. If Arema fans can't be bothered then what does that say about the rest of the league?
Each game you go to in Indonesia, be it Arema or Persitara, you'll see a banner saying sampai mati, till death (or till I die like the English version) or Loyaltis Tanpa Batas, ( loyalty without limits or unlimited loyalty).
But we don't see the small print that says "As Long As We Win).