Friday, May 20, 2016
Evan Dimas Needs To Let His Football Do The Talking
If ever there was a young Indonesian player being groomed for the highest level it was Evan Dimas. Since catching the nation's attention as part of Indra Sjafri's exciting Under 19 team Dimas has become the most talked about player of his generation.
He has just returned from training with Espanyol B in Spain. Yep, B. Yet on his return to Indonesia his first port of call wasn't to his club, you know the place where he earns his bread and butter. Nope, Evan Dimas was summoned to the sports ministry for a natter and no doubt a photo shoot.
Before we go all ga ga over Dimas' return to Indonesia let's consider a few cold hard facts.
Yes, he was an integral part of that Under 19 team that made it to Myanmar back in 2014 but he as also part of a team that lost all three of its group stage games in the AFC Under 19s Championships. As part of the preparations for that event he was part of the team that travelled the length and breadth of the country playing friendlies willy nilly and spending hours cooped up on uncomfortable buses.
Towards the end of 2014 he made his international debut for Indonesia, scoring against Laos at the ASEAN Football Federation Championships in Hanoi. All this and he had yet to appear for his club side Surabaya United in a competitive game.
He finally made his debut for Surabaya United in the 2015 Indonesia Super League but made only two appearances before the league was halted, There is also a certain irony that the most hyped player was being watched by no one as Persebaya fans continued to boycott the 'imposters' from East Kalimantan.
With Indonesian football put on hold thanks to FIFA's suspension Dimas headed to Spain to try and earn a contract to no avail. He did manage a handful of Under 23 appearances but they soon dried up as the ban took hold.
Now football and Dimas is back. He is 21 years old and has played precisely 2 games for Surabaya United plus one for Indonesia. Three games for a talented player is no return at all and while he can't be blamed for what has happened in the last 12 months he needs to realise he is where he is because of his football ability. Now he is back with his club side let's hope he is allowed to play football consistently and show us what he can do on the field. In short let his football do the talking.
So far this season fans have been impressed by the likes of Ichsan Kurniawan and Ambrizal Umanialo doing their stuff on the field. It is understandable Dimas needs time to get back in the flow of things here but he must be given that time by his club and by the rest of us. The last few years have seen so many talented players fall by the wayside let's hope Dimas doesn't travel that all too familiar path.
He has just returned from training with Espanyol B in Spain. Yep, B. Yet on his return to Indonesia his first port of call wasn't to his club, you know the place where he earns his bread and butter. Nope, Evan Dimas was summoned to the sports ministry for a natter and no doubt a photo shoot.
Before we go all ga ga over Dimas' return to Indonesia let's consider a few cold hard facts.
Yes, he was an integral part of that Under 19 team that made it to Myanmar back in 2014 but he as also part of a team that lost all three of its group stage games in the AFC Under 19s Championships. As part of the preparations for that event he was part of the team that travelled the length and breadth of the country playing friendlies willy nilly and spending hours cooped up on uncomfortable buses.
Towards the end of 2014 he made his international debut for Indonesia, scoring against Laos at the ASEAN Football Federation Championships in Hanoi. All this and he had yet to appear for his club side Surabaya United in a competitive game.
He finally made his debut for Surabaya United in the 2015 Indonesia Super League but made only two appearances before the league was halted, There is also a certain irony that the most hyped player was being watched by no one as Persebaya fans continued to boycott the 'imposters' from East Kalimantan.
With Indonesian football put on hold thanks to FIFA's suspension Dimas headed to Spain to try and earn a contract to no avail. He did manage a handful of Under 23 appearances but they soon dried up as the ban took hold.
Now football and Dimas is back. He is 21 years old and has played precisely 2 games for Surabaya United plus one for Indonesia. Three games for a talented player is no return at all and while he can't be blamed for what has happened in the last 12 months he needs to realise he is where he is because of his football ability. Now he is back with his club side let's hope he is allowed to play football consistently and show us what he can do on the field. In short let his football do the talking.
So far this season fans have been impressed by the likes of Ichsan Kurniawan and Ambrizal Umanialo doing their stuff on the field. It is understandable Dimas needs time to get back in the flow of things here but he must be given that time by his club and by the rest of us. The last few years have seen so many talented players fall by the wayside let's hope Dimas doesn't travel that all too familiar path.
# posted by Me @ 2:34 PM 
