Monday, March 11, 2013
Persija Lack Vision
The Indonesia Super League
table doesn't make pretty reading for fans of Persija Jakarta. Their team sits
rooted firmly to the bottom with two wins a meagre return from their opening 11
games and last weekend saw a comprehensive 3-1 thrashing by their bitterest
rivals Persib Bandung.
The defeat away to Bandung
meant the feint ray of hope that followed the narrow 1-0 triumph of Persita
Tangerang soon disapated and the club are facing some harsh decisions.
As one of the biggest clubs
in the country Persija's attempts at cashing in on their name have come to
zilch and it must have been painful for any beancounters within the football
club to have seen how far Persib are ahead of them in this regard.
Advertising boards rimmed
the pitch while the players' shirts were adorned with various other sponsors
keen to be attached with the football club. And it's not just local state
enterprises, there are a number of well known international brands. In fact at
last count there is something like 22 sponsors paying for their name to be
linked with Persib.
Persija's problems are more
immediate. There has been talk of salaries going unpaid which has impacted
their ability to move in the transfer market; iconic striker Bambang Pamungkas
has yet to sign for the new season and is perhaps one reason why they have
struggled to find the net on a consistent basis; just 11 games in those opening
nine games while 17 have been shipped at the other end.
The team nicknamed Macan
Kamayoran have struggled to find any kind of momentum or consistency this
season and fans have been quick to blame their coach Iwan Setiawan but with the
club starved of cash it seems they have been focussing their ire on the wrong
target. Even a coach like Sir Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho would struggle to
motivate players who worried about where their next pay packet would come from.
With a couple of home games
on the horizon they would ordinarily be looking forward to perhaps an easier
time on the pitch but here in Indonesia nothing is straightforward. Their
regular stadium, Bung Karno, has been double booked, by a K pop concert, so not
for the first time in recent years the team find themselves preparing for a
home game in a different part of Java.
Given the dearth of stadiums
in Indonesia's capital city, and again how they must secretly envy Persib who
boast two they can choose from, Siliwangi and Si Jalak Harapat, with one more
due to open later this year, if Bung Karno is unavailable Persija have to look
further afield and given that they are none too popular in West Java that
further afield usually involves flights and hotel accomodation; an unnecessary
expense when funds are already tight.
This Sunday they will play
their home game against Persela at the Manahan Stadium in Solo, Central Java.
Over the years they have also used stadiums in Samarinda, Malang, Yogyakarta
and Semarang so when it comes to playing at home away there is a certain amount
of experience within the football club though it is perhaps an experience they
could do without.
Such is the closeness of the
table that a couple of wins on the road could well see Persija rise to the top
half of the table and they perhaps will take comfort from the fact their
opponents, Persela and Persegres, both have problems of their own.
Potential is a word often
bandied around about Indonesian football and Persija without doubt are one of
the clubs who do have potential. However it is far from being realised at the
moment.
Persib have shown what can
be done when it comes to attracting sponsors while Sriwijaya and Persipura have
shown what consistency can do for a football club. And Arema have invested
heavily in experience in a bid to get back among the honours.
But Persija keep fudging.
There seems to be no plan at the club beyond getting to the next game and until
they start to show some vision their future will continue to a fudge.
SOURCE - My Jakarta Globe column
# posted by Me @ 9:36 AM 
