Thursday, December 22, 2016
Bayu Pradana's Sate Dream
Mitra Kukar's Bayu Pradana impressed many at the recent AFF Suzuki Cup with his commanding performances at the heart of the Indonesian midfield. That the national team was able to show a new defensive fortitude was in part down to the partnership Bayu forged with Stefano Lilypaly just in front of the back four.
After impressing a regional audience we would imagine Bayu, much like Thailand's Chanathip Songkrasin, to have his eyes on building his career in more challenging leagues. Chanathip of course has signed an 18 month loan deal with Japanese side Consadole Sapporo.
Bayu's ambitions are more humble though. After returning from Thailand Bayu has been helping out at his parent's sate stall in Central Java and the 26 year old has made no secret of wanting to follow in his parent's footsteps.
'Next month I will fulfill my dream of opening my own sate stall,' he said in a recent interview. When he was asked if he felt it was a bit of a come down from the AFF final, that he felt a bit embarrassed he replied by saying 'why should I feel embarrassed? ...I really enjoy it.'
Now I don't for a minute want to suggest Bayu and Chanathip are on the same level as players. What is instructive is we have a Thai player who is willing to try somewhere new, something the likes of his national team coach Zico did 20 odd years ago, while an Indonesian is more content to stay close to his family.
Not judging, it's just the way it is for so many players.
# posted by Me @ 10:01 AM 
