Jakarta – A miracle almost happened once again as Indonesia pursues its long-held dream of reaching the soccer World Cup for the first time. This time around Indonesia came close to humiliating host Bahrain in their World Cup Asia qualifier tie on Thursday, which saw the home team needing a last-gasp goal in extended injury time to earn a 2-2 draw.
It was the third time that Indonesia, a minnow in the soccer world despite its abundant talent, shocked much stronger opposition. The Indonesian squad has held regular World Cup finalists Saudi Arabia and Australia 1-1 and 0-0 respectively, before stretching Bahrain to the limit.
Such achievements were against the odds, considering the yawning gap in world rankings between Indonesia and its three rivals. Before the string of surprises, Bahrain routed Indonesia 10-0 in their World Cup qualifying match in 2012; Saudi Arabia handed out 6-0 and 5-0 drubbings to Indonesia in their World Cup qualifying ties in 2003 and Australia produced a 4-0 win over Indonesia in the Asian Cup in January of this year.
The sudden change in Indonesia's performance stems from the naturalization strategy initiated by the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) under its chairman, Erick Thohir, who is a businessman-cum-politician and the current state enterprises minister.
Erick's passion for soccer, and sports in general, is beyond question. He owned Italian giant Inter Milan and Major League Soccer club DC United, and now partly owns English Championship side Oxford. His international soccer network has helped him build a strong national team that is reinforced by naturalized players, mostly from the Netherlands, who regularly compete in European and American stadiums.
Just to name a few, Maarten Paes, who plays for FC Dallas, is the number one choice of goalkeeper of coach Shin Tae-yong, while Rafael Struick and Ragnar Oratmangoen, who scored Indonesia's goals against Bahrain on Thursday, play for Australian League club Brisbane Roar and Belgian premier league side Dender, respectively.
The impact of the naturalized players has been instantly felt, as Indonesia can now match Asian powerhouses. The three draws will certainly boost Indonesia's morale when it takes on the other contenders in the group, China on Oct. 15 and Japan on Nov. 15.
The top two teams from each group in this round of qualifying will advance to the 2026 World Cup, which will be cohosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The third- and fourth-placed teams will stand a chance of advancing by playing a fourth qualifying round.
Many, however, have questioned the national team's overdependence on its naturalized players. Like in the previous two matches, the naturalized players dominated the starting lineup.
So far the PSSI has recruited 14 naturalized players, with two more coming. Donning the national team jersey is now becoming more difficult for home-grown players as South Korean Shin has raised the bar higher. Even if they win a call-up for international duty, they have to settle for the status of substitutes.
Certainly, the fight for a place in the team is now tougher than ever, which is good as only the best can join it. But on the other hand, the short-cut effort only confirms the country's flaws in developing soccer. This was evident in the fact that Indonesia had to wait for 32 years to regain the soccer gold medal in the SEA Games last year.
The naturalization policy has also raised the question of discrimination. While it took the soccer players weeks or months to obtain their Indonesian passports, other foreigners have to stay in the country for five consecutive years before they can apply for Indonesian citizenship.
Such a privilege has unsurprisingly led to allegations that the naturalized players are keeping their old passports, which is illegal in Indonesia, although Director General of Immigration Silmy Karim has denied this suggestion.
What we know so far is the shortcut has leveled up the national team, but we remain in the dark about the consequences that we will have to pay.
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2024/10/12/the-question-of-naturalization.htm