Jakarta Casual

In many ways they were the team that propelled Thai football into the national consciousness. Chonburi maybe were the first to develop a local identity, to build a team that people could recognize as being their very own after an era when club sides like BEC Tero Sasana and Thai Farmers; Bank may have won kudos overseas for their Asian Cup exploits but struggled locally to make much of an impact.

The purchase or merger with Nong Jork by a media company effectively brought Thai football into the 20^th Century. Backed by a slick marketing team Nong Jork were transformed into Muang Thong United and the subliminal message was of success and glory.

The name itself, Muang Thong means City of Gold and is a new town area north of Bangkok called Muang Thong Thani, pretty much a building site when I was living in Bangkok.

The club colours, red and black, and the use of the word United in the club title brought images of Manchester United while a change kit of all white brought to mind Real Madrid.

Success followed success for a new generation of Thai football fans. Muang Thong United won back to back TPLs and seemed set fair to dominate the game on and off the field for a long time to come. They attracted the best players, Datsakorn Tonglao and Teerasil Dangda among them, while recruited names like Henrique Calisto to coach them to success.

But the team and their fans will look back on 2011 with more than a tinge of disappointment. Buriram PEA have come along and outspent the Thai champions and their coronation at the weekend was merely the official recognition of what everyone had known for a long time.

Muang Thong have struggled to hold on to coaches. Winning the title has been no guarantee of job security as the owners of the club take offense at anything they deem lacking respect.

Robbie Fowler, the former Liverpool and England striker is now in the hot seat, his first coaching position, and he is overseeing a final run in that sees the team long out of title contention. The cups are a possibility as is second place but it is all a far cry from the heady days of back to back titles and last week’s 3-1 home defeat by Raj Navy seemed to sum up a disappointing season.

A week earlier they had slipped a two goal lead at home to struggling Khon Kaen, the north east time netting twice right at the death. One win in five games was not something they were used to.

The club owner, who had earlier given Fowler the Thai equivalence of a vote of confidence, came out a publicly criticized the team, saying the same mistakes had kept cropping up and the players hadn’t learnt their lessons. Whether that statement also extended to the board who kept changing coaches is not clear bit highly unlikely.

Now you could argue whether the owner got his timing right or not. But with the season yet to end and possible cup finals on the horizon it may hot have been the best time to come out and say there would be a mass clear out of players come the end of the season.

Obviously as professionals the players will continue to give their best (approved Professional Footballers’ Association quote for media outlets at difficult times), but a large part of them will be looking ahead to next season and where they will be. It’s only natural.

To be left in limbo like that can’t be a good thing for any employee. As coach Robbie Fowler has the job of motivating players who know they aren’t wanted for the next season. And despite the vote of confidence he will only naturally be concerned about his own job security, especially considering the ease with which the axe is swung in them parts.

There is a part of Thai culture, which owners and bosses particularly feel attached to, which says that respect must at all times be extended to those at the top of the pyramid. They take offence very easily and protect their ‘face’ jealously by showing how powerful they are and sod the consequences.

The issue of ‘face’ is complex and one that is considered way beyond us hairy, big nosed westerners. But all the while football isn’t about football, it’s about the personal aggrandizement of self serving individuals then the game will remain their plaything and not a sport that can be fully embraced by the country as a whole.

Fans of Muang Thong can expect a clear out ahead of the new season then. Continuity seems a dirty word up there and you can’t help but wonder how the club owners would get on running a club like, say, Manchester United.

# posted by Me @ 8:28 PM 2 comments

It’s hard to get too excited about Buriram PEA winning the Thai Premier League. It’s been a done deal for so long plus the involvement of high profile politicians and the lingering suspicions of franchise football all leave a bad taste in the mouth.

There are though a couple of noteworthy achievements to come out of their triumph. Rangsan Vivatchajchok won his fifth TPL title with a third or fourth different club.

2000 – BEC Tero

2003 – Krung Thai Bang

2004 – Krung Thai Bank

2008 – PEA

2011 – Buriram PEA

Sure likes his corporate teams, this fella. The question is how much are PEA related to Buriram PEA? Are they different teams? Is PEA just a name available to the highest bidder? Does anyone really care?

For Buriram PEA coach Attapon Busabakom it’s his third title as coach with three different clubs

2003 – Krung Thai Bank

2009 – Muang Thong United

2011 – Buriram PEA

Source – Thai League Football

# posted by Me @ 8:26 PM 0 comments

VietNamNet Bridge – Big spenders Ninh Binh are hoping to sign footballing superstars including Rivaldo and Guti ahead of the upcoming season.

"After the 2011 season, the managers were looking to improve our squad for next year. Ninh Binh look forward to signing stars such as Rivaldo and Guti to play in the V-League," said Pham Van Le, head of the Ninh Binh Football Delegation.

Le said that over the past three months, Ninh Binh officials had been in contact with various players' agents, but no agreements had been reached. Le confirmed that if the two stars wanted to play in Asia, he was ready to bring them to Viet Nam, although he admitted that it would not be easy.

Earlier, Brazil-based Sao Paulo managers said veteran Rivaldo, 39, would not be in their plans for the new season.

Rivaldo, a former Barcelona midfielder, said he wanted to play on until the end of 2012

Rivaldo was in the Brazilian squad that triumphed at the 2002 World Cup. In his career he won the European Golden Ball twice and FIFA Player of the Year in 1999 while playing for Barcelona.

Meanwhile Guti, who left Turkey's Besiktas several weeks ago, said he did not want to play in Europe anymore and was interested in a move to Asia.

Before moving to Besiktas in 2010, the 35-year-old spent nine years at Real Madrid where he won five La Liga titles and three Champions League crowns.

COMMENT - I wanna longer holiday but don't mean I'm gonna get it...

# posted by Me @ 5:45 AM 0 comments

Bambang Pamungkas is the Gary Lineker of Indonesian football. Even the masses who loathe and mock the local game as unworthy of their attention recognize Bepe, as he is known, as a rare rose amid fields of energy sapping mud. His cherub looks and calm demeanour have crossed over from the football field to the advertising world where his face sells various products from billboards and buses.

But Bambang’s time at the top of Indonesian football is coming to an end. He has not been first choice for the national team for 12 months, unthinkable for a generation of fans, as first Alfred Rield and latterly Wim van Rijsbergen have gone with the older, and naturalized, Christian Gonzales as their first choice striker.

His goal against Iran in the latest World Cup Qualifier, a 4-1 defeat at the Bung Karno Stadium, may well be his last in competitive football for the country he has served so well for the best part of a decade; a shame that there were perhaps less than 2,000 in the stadium to witness it.

Bambang, like so many of his generation, will look back on his career and wonder what if. Yes, there will be money in the bank, and plenty of it, but footballers also crave glory. Silverware, trophies and medals are the public face of a successful career, something to show the grandchildren, and for all the respect he has acquired over the years all Bepe has to adorn his trophy cabinet from nigh on 10 years with Persija Jakarta is one league title. Think George Best’s talent and compare with Gary Neville’s medals!

Ironically the success, and recognition, that footballers crave has come his way. Ask any fan of Selangor in Malaysia about Bambang and they will go misty eyed, recalling his two year spell with the club in the middle of the opening decade of the 21^st century. The first season saw him amass three trophies as well as averaging a goal a game. Instead of building on that success Bepe returned home to Indonesia after a second, less prolific season.

As a young player Bambang spent a few months in the Netherlands with a lower division team, Erhad, but frustrated by the lack of game time he was getting he soon returned to familiarity of Indonesia and Persija. Later a move to the A League in Australia, restricted by a salary cap and relatively high taxes, never materialized, probably because no club there could match his wage demands.

Bambang’s generation is in danger of fading from the scene leaving behind little more than memories.

Erol Iba is another player who reportedly attracted attention from down under. Until he did the maths and decided he and his family would be better off in the provincial East Javan town of Kediri and not Sydney with its beaches and harbor.

For Bambang’s generation, playing overseas has invariably meant Malaysia. But similarities in language and culture make this less a leap into the unknown and more a short stay with distant cousins a few miles away. It is unlikely any of the Indonesians who plied their trade across the Melaka Straits would complain it was like being in a foreign country as Ian Rush famously once opined about his short stay in Italy.

Ponaryo Astaman, an elegant midfielder, also spent time in Malaysia before returning to the creature comforts of home and family. He did once attract interest from a team in Singapore where the coach at the time really rated him but it was a move feted never to happen. Despite the material wealth in the island city, football is starved of funding and there is no way any Singaporean club could afford to put together a package to seduce one of indonesia’s top players.

Other players like Elie Aiboy and Budi Sudarsono have seen their time playing overseas limited to short spells in Malaysia before they too happily returned home. Aiboy left former Bayern Munchen coach Ottmar Hitzfeld drooling after a friendly in Jakarta while Sudarsono, who so impressed during Persik’s AFC Asian Champions League campaign in 2007, has endured a couple of barren spells with Persib and Sriwijaya and has moved to Deltras in search of kick starting his career.

The lost generation may look at their bank balances and say that yes, their career in football was successful. Many players come from kampongs where money is always tight and nature a feared mistress. The influx of easy cash will always be an attraction, especially when it comes in their comfort zone and there are large families to support. But in their quiet, introspective moments, on a personal level, there will be doubts. Did they make the best use of their talents, did they take enough risks, did they become as good as they should have been?

Football is like nature. Bambang’s generation are being shunted to the sidelines while new, younger, fresher players are starting to make an impression. Players like Syamsul Alam, part of the FA programme initiated under the previous leadership of Nurdin Halid, where teenagers were sent to Uruguay to further their football education. Alam impressed so much he was signed by local giants Penarol on loan. And while he may not have featured too much in the current SEA Games time is still on his side and he is a strong candidate for Myanmar in 2013 and Singapore two years later.

The future of Indonesian football looks bright. The SEA Games performances of players like Ferdinand Sinaga, Patrick Wanggai and Diego Michels proves that. Add in young players like Yericho Christiantoko, playing in Belgium, and Arthur Irawan, signed for Espanyol in Spain, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

The best lesson these young players can learn from Bambang and his generation is that opportunities to play overseas need to be taken while they are young. Because while Indonesia maybe home and the familiar but the politics surrounding the game do nothing to improve one’s career.

(First appeared in Jakarta Globe)

# posted by Me @ 4:00 PM 0 comments

I’ve never been a fan of the League Cup. In a season of 33 league games (28 next season) plus the Singapore Cup I have always felt this is a competition too much on the crowded calendar but I don’t call the shots and no one listens to me so who cares?!

With the revamp of the SLeague next season it would be nice if we could also have a revamp of this insignificant little competition.

Cups are about glory they are about the little fish taking on the big fish and embarrassing them. Think Crystal Palace the other night, think York City as well. These sorts of ties bring romance back into what has become a heavily choreographed, regulated game and who doesn’t need a bit of romance now and then?

The Singapore Cup, with its 12 SLeague and four invited foreign teams is fine and should continue as it is. But why not shake up the League Cup. Why not expand it to include NFL teams? For any Americans out there the NFL is not a competition where roughty toughty men shove Tupperware down the body to look bigger and meaner. It is the National Football League, a non professional league run by the FA that doesn’t offer promotion to the SLeague.

Why not invite say four NFL clubs to enter the SLeague. With 16 teams we can do away with the nonsense group stage and have a straight knock out competition. Let’s see clubs like Singapore Cricket Club (great name for a football club) play Geylang United or Eunos Crescent take on Woodlands Wellington with the inherent risk of an upset.

I know Singapore doesn’t like romance and unpredictability. They crave stability neatness and orderliness. But we’re talking about football…give it a shot. You may even find you like it.

# posted by Me @ 3:57 PM 1 comments

It’s been another exciting season in the SLeague with the title race not being decided until the last game of the season. The penultimate game between Home United and Tampines Rovers saw the Stags win 1-0; they went into their last game knowing three points would be enough. They won 5-0 to secure their first title in six years.

While the Stags enjoy that champion feeling and look ahead to the new season, the SLeague could well be looking very different. For a start, finally, the league is going to increase in size, from 12 to 14. Two new teams, but both foreign. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Yishun Super Reds and Sembawang Rangers have been talked about as new teams in the league but each bid seems to have skeletons in the closet. And bearing in mind how Tanjong Pagar have fared this last season perhaps the gene pool just isn’t there for another Singaporean team?

The Jaguars have a fine history in Singapore football but when they reformed this year there policy was one of nurturing young players. A policy shared by Young Lions and Woodlands Wellington. Any more teams looking to develop young players is gonna hit a brick wall. In multi racial Singapore it’s mostly the ethnic Malays and Indians who play football professionally even though the Chinese dominate the population. There just ain’t that much talent out there.

DPMM are of course a familiar face. They entered the league in 2009 and became the first foreign team to win a trophy, picking up the League Cup in that year. With large, passionate crowds at their home stadium, regularly over 6,000, they brought a vitality and exuberance to the staid old league.

However FIFA flexed their muscles and kicked them out of world football meaning they also had to leave the SLeague before the end of the season.

Singapore and Malaysia signed an agreement earlier in the year which will see both country enter a team in the other’s league. The Malaysians will send their Harimau Muda to join the SLeague; which means we could see a Singapore football match featuring teams from Brunei and Malaysia take place outside Singapore.

The Harimau Muda have been the launch pad for the Malaysian team that has gone on to win successive SEA Games and the ASEAN Cup and are bound to bring more excitement and quality to the league.

In return Singapore have set up a new team, Singapore Lions, to compete in the Malaysian competitions. They will go straight into the top flight Super League across the causeway in a move that should silence the Fandi/Malaysia Cup whiners who regularly fill papers and forums about how wonderful things were back in them days when Singapore regularly competed in Malaysia.

Will the old supporters turn up to support the Lions as the FA tries to rekindle interest in its product? Officials certainly hope so and are talking about expanding the Jalan Besar Stadium to cater for the extra demand.

For all the negativity that surrounds the way the game is run in the island state these are without doubt good moves. Hopefully they can be marketed correctly to get the bums on seats the players and the clubs deserve.

# posted by Me @ 3:54 PM 1 comments

After years of concentrating on young players, a policy that led them to the Copa Indonesia semi finals in 2007 but no silverware, shades of Arsenal, Pelita Jaya ditched that policy when they surprised everyone by signing Malaysian striker Safee Sali who had topped scored at last year’s ASEAN Cup, hosted by Indonesia.

Sali top scored at the regional event and settled in quickly to Indonesia, becoming Pelita Jaya’s top scorer despite playing in a poor team for only half a season.

During the pre season though the Karawang based club have been busy as the youth policy was essentially kicked into touch. The nick name Yong Guns has stayed, as has Egi Melgiansyah who impressed in that team of ’07 and indeed showed his progress during the recently completed SEA Games.

jPelita Jaya have been enthusiastic supporters fof the naturalization process which has seen players with foreign passports take up Indonesian citizenship depending on family or time spent in the country.

One of the first players to be brought in this way was full back Diego Michels who, like Egi, impressed many during the SEA Games with his robust, all action style.

Victor Igbenofo enjoyed several years with Persipura where he won the ISL twice in the last three years. The Nigerian has also decided to take Indonesian citizenship and was called up for the recent World Cup qualifiers but never got a game due to wrangling over his status.

The no nonsense defender will be a reassuring figure at the heart of the Pelita Jaya defense.

Joining Igbenofo is a fellow Nigerian turned Indonesian, Greg Nwokolo. Comfortable up front, down the flanks or playing just off the striker, Nwokolo has been one of the ISL’s most consistent performers over the last few seasons with Persija. Indeed, so impressive was he that a Portuguese club signed him for 12 months but it didn’t work out and Nwokolo was happy to return to the Kemayoran Tigers.

Every successful teams needs a strong spine. With Michels, Ibgenefo, Egi, Safee and Nwokolo Pelita Jaya look to have enough in their locker to make the move from strugglers to challengers.

# posted by Me @ 3:52 PM 0 comments

If fans of Indonesian football have any awareness at all of Singapore football it is probably limited to Tampines Rovers. The team from the east coast of the city state have provided several internationals to clubs in Indonesia with varying degrees of success.

Khairul Amri is widely recognized as one of the most talented players of his generation and when he made the move to Persiba Balikpapan many hoped he would bring his prodigious talent to one Oil City. He is also one of the most injury prone and rarely had the chance to sign before being released.

Mustafic Fahruddin is one of several Singaporean internationals who qualified for the national team after having played in the SLeague for five years. He spent a season with Persija before being released when a new coach came in and wanted to surround himself with his own players. After last season with Persela he is now back with Tampines.

Noh Alam Shah and M Ridhuan made the move to Arema in 2009 and are currently looking at their third season with the Crazy Lions.

On Sunday evening Tampines hosted Balestier Khalsa at the Tampines Stadium knowing a victory would guarantee them their first SLeague triumph since 2005. Home United were the only team that could catch them but they were a point behind and despite playing Geylang United at the same time Tampines coach Steven Tan knew his team held their destiney in their hands.

After a nervy start Fahruddin opened the scoring from the penalty spot and the team nicknamed the Stags were on their way to the title.

Fahruddin scored a second around the half hour mark with a spectacular free kick from 25 yards before the 41 year Aleksander Duric netted a typical tap in before half time.

The second half was a non event. Balestier Khalsa were on the field but it was one way traffic as Tampines piled forward looking to increase the margin. Ahmad Latiff did just that and with some style. Receiving the ball some 25 yards out he looked up and seeing the keeper off his line deliciously curled the ball over his head.

Latiff, with his dyed hair and all action combative style is an unlikely Singaporean. Vocal and opiniated he has upset people in the island’s football community but there is now doubting his ability on the football field. He also had a short spell in Indonesia when he was younger, spending time with Persikabo in the early years of the 21^st century.

It was a fitting contribution from the 32 year old who has been in fine form the last couple of years but continues to be inexplicably overlooked by the national team selectors. It was also his final contribution as minutes he was substituted and received a warm ovation from his appreciative fans.

Substitute Ahmad Fahmie made it five and still Tampines pressed. The job was done. In the VIP area of the stand officials were handing out commemorative t shirts while on the field Fahruddin was being urged forward by the bench, hoping he could complete a rare hat trick. He couldn’t but when he was finally replaced his reception from the faithful was raw and appreciative.

Noh Alam Shah and M Ridhuan have experience of winning titles in Indonesia. They were part of the Arema team that became champions in 2009/2010. The title deciding game of that particular season saw Arema play Persija at Bung Karno in Jakarta.

Arema fans travelled in large numbers, in excess of 50,000, and camped overnight outside the stadium, determined to see their heroes make history. More than 85,000 excited fans shoehorned themselves into the historic stadium and witnessed the Malang team win 5-1 to set up a monster celebration.

Things were much humbler in staid old Singapore. For a start the crowd was a shade over 2,000 and there was no evidence of fans sleeping outside the ground the night before. And despite being known as a raucous crowd, by Singapore standards, there was no singing or dancing. Plenty of drumming but no singing.

When captain Duric was presented with the trophy the biggest cheer came from the Master of Ceremonies courtesy of his microphone and deafening speakers. The fans applauded politely, cheered when the MC asked them to but for a team winning the title it was all very subdued and understated.

The players of course made the most of it. Fans or no fans, atmosphere or no atmosphere they were in football to win trophies and so they did their jigging. But you can’t help but wonder whether Fahruddin and Latiff, with their Indonesian experiences, were looking at the crowd and hoping for an injection of Indonesian passion to crank up the volume.

# posted by Me @ 5:41 AM 1 comments