Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Shevchenko & Mitra Kukar
I see Indonesian football has been making waved around the world with the unlikely story that former Ukraine international Andrei Shevchenko is mulling a move to Mitra Kukar.
Talk is that the deal would be for 10 games. That could mean three coaches in this place plus a couple of lengthy road trips to Sumatra and Papua depending on the whims of the owners and the quirks of the fixture list.
Sheva was in Indonesia recently as part of the Milan Old Buggers team playing Indonesian Old Buggers with some down time in Bali.
I haven't been to Kutai Kertenegara yet but I'm guessing it isn't like Bali. It is one of Indonesia's wealthier cities that is for sure but it ain't Milan. It ain't even Stamford Bridge.
It's a couple of hours from the nearest airport!
Will Sheva go? Put it this way. Think about Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Robbie Fowler. They came to Asia and they left even richer than when they arrived. But what impact did they have on the local game? What will their lasting legacy be?
If Mitra Kukar have about a million quid burning a hole in their pocket then they are best advised investing that money in youth. Not as sexy as a middle aged Ukraine I guess but a better punt for Indonesian football. But then it is never always about football, is it?
Talk is that the deal would be for 10 games. That could mean three coaches in this place plus a couple of lengthy road trips to Sumatra and Papua depending on the whims of the owners and the quirks of the fixture list.
Sheva was in Indonesia recently as part of the Milan Old Buggers team playing Indonesian Old Buggers with some down time in Bali.
I haven't been to Kutai Kertenegara yet but I'm guessing it isn't like Bali. It is one of Indonesia's wealthier cities that is for sure but it ain't Milan. It ain't even Stamford Bridge.
It's a couple of hours from the nearest airport!
Will Sheva go? Put it this way. Think about Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Robbie Fowler. They came to Asia and they left even richer than when they arrived. But what impact did they have on the local game? What will their lasting legacy be?
If Mitra Kukar have about a million quid burning a hole in their pocket then they are best advised investing that money in youth. Not as sexy as a middle aged Ukraine I guess but a better punt for Indonesian football. But then it is never always about football, is it?
# posted by Me @ 7:35 PM 
