Thursday, May 14, 2015
Young Indonesian Coach Tries Pastures New
One of my gripes has been the insularity of football in Indonesia. Overseas is seen as Malaysia, a land with a shared heritage and culture. Very few players have gone abroad and made a real go of it.
The small mind, small town mentality is stifling and it is choking the growth of football. Football needs new ideas and they are not coming from within the 17,000 islands where the latest mess is an example of people using the game for their own means. No one has a bigger picture because their horizons are so limited.
Players like Arthur Irawan are the exception. He got out at a young age and is now playing professionally in Belgium. Of course that does not necessarily translate into recognition in his homeland as he struggles to impress the national team selectors.
Now we have Rudy Eka Priyambada. Rudy took over at Mitra Kukar when Scottt Cooper stepped down but when the ISL was stopped he was left without a job. Rather than sit at home and wait for the local media could contact him for stories such as 'Coach Disappointed League Has Stopped' Rudy looked elsewhere.
His perserverance has paid off as he has landed a coaching gig in Bahrain with Al Najma.
Let's hope the post works for him and he sets an example other coaches follow. And it gives me an excuse to pop down to Bahrain for a natter and perhaps search out some rendang!
The small mind, small town mentality is stifling and it is choking the growth of football. Football needs new ideas and they are not coming from within the 17,000 islands where the latest mess is an example of people using the game for their own means. No one has a bigger picture because their horizons are so limited.
Players like Arthur Irawan are the exception. He got out at a young age and is now playing professionally in Belgium. Of course that does not necessarily translate into recognition in his homeland as he struggles to impress the national team selectors.
Now we have Rudy Eka Priyambada. Rudy took over at Mitra Kukar when Scottt Cooper stepped down but when the ISL was stopped he was left without a job. Rather than sit at home and wait for the local media could contact him for stories such as 'Coach Disappointed League Has Stopped' Rudy looked elsewhere.
His perserverance has paid off as he has landed a coaching gig in Bahrain with Al Najma.
Let's hope the post works for him and he sets an example other coaches follow. And it gives me an excuse to pop down to Bahrain for a natter and perhaps search out some rendang!
# posted by Me @ 10:52 AM 
