Developing Indonesian football

I was greeted in the corridor today by one of the football freaks, a lad who seemingly has a different football shirt for each day of the week.

Good news sir, Italy won, he said

Why is that good news I asked him

Because I cheer for Italy was his reply.

Well, I said, it’s not good news if you come from Ghana.

Oh yes he replied.

Cue his best mate, a Man Utd supporting lad who told me his father was going to buy him a new pair of 200 dollar football boots. I’ve seen him play and believe me 200 dollar boots won’t improve his performance one iota. His Petr Cech gloves haven’t helped either but hey he’s a marketing man’s dream.

We sit and discuss 3-5-2 or 4-4-2, which I don’t understand, Rooney’s foot injury and never mind the Ballack, they know everything there is to know about European football they can glean from magazines, hell they even buy Shoot! But they know jack shit about Indonesian football.

On the face of it Indonesia has all the ingredients of a successful footballing legacy. It has a crap league. So does Brazil. It has a large population. So does Brazil. Indonesia has indigenous music, gamelan, so does Brazil, samba. Indonesia cuts down trees. So does Brazil. Indonesia has people obsessed by football, so does Brazil. But whereas Brazilians tend to be in love with Brazilian football, Indonesians also love Brazilian football. And Italian. And English. And Spanish. In fact anything but their own domestic league.

The interest is there. Check out the packed terraces each week at Semarang, Jakarta, Bandung, check out the young lads who proudly where their teams colours week in week out. But these are priabumi, local Indonesians, usually working class lads or school kids who pack metro minis and angkots for their weekly dose of football. The game today is not dissimilar to England 35 years ago. A working class game played in poor stadiums lacking facilities with no marketing and no master plan.

We need these young lads to keep attending or the game becomes the home of the ‘prawn sandwich’ brigade that Roy Keane famously slagged off a few years back. They provide the passion and excitement from the terraces that can lift their team to dizzying heights. Remember the old chestnut about the Kop sucking the ball in at Anfield. But we also need fresh input to the game, new ideas to widen the fan base, to attract more money, to get Indonesia progressing.

The money has to come from somewhere but where? The game and the teams today are funded mostly by local government with all the baggage that entails. In its present state it isn’t realistic to expect sponsors to through money at the game. There’s too much crap on and off the pitches for that. But it does need something to kick start the game.

Much of the world is obsessed by celebrity. How many people today around the world follow either Manchester United or Real Madrid courtesy of one David Beckham esquire? It ain’t the traditional way of following a club, it has traditionalists like me vomiting but people today like a ready packaged product, it’s what they’re used to. Ok, given them what they want.

There must be somewhere out there, some glamourous player living the high life who can be moulded by the marketing men so successful at selling 200 dollar boots to a player who can’t kick straight. There’s got to be a club with the business savvy to develop a marketing side that exploits the player and the club. Of course to do this the clubs need to be run as businesses. Stop local government funding, attract sponsors, market the club as a brand. It’s a proven business model be it LA Lakers or Glasgow Celtic and check out the terraces here. People buy souvenirs to identify with their club, it ain’t rocket science.

As the sport widens its appeal so money can be spent on improving facilities in the stadiums, installing some seats which would provide more comfort to the more discerning supporter as well as doubling as useful weapons to hurl at referees and opposing players. With the glamour factor it would be possible to attract higher profile sponsors to the clubs and games generating yet more money.

Of course having a successful domestic league is no guarantee on success on the world stage, step forward England, but by having cash swilling round the league perhaps people can develop a master plan for the national team, a long term programme geared towards qualifying for the World Cup, something no ASEAN team has done since 1938 when the Dutch East Indies had a go.

Mind you, in the words of John Lennon…

…you may say I’m a dreamer…

Let's Hear it for the Boy

Shaquira! Shaquira
I never knew that he would shoot that bad
He makes the basketball mad
Rims don't lie

Behind the numbers: Jerry Stackhouse scored more points in the last minute or so of the 2nd quarter than Shaquira scored in the entire game. In fact, Stackhouse almost outcored Shaquira on a single possession. 2/16 from the freebie line in 2 games, and it should really be 2/19 including his retries due to lane violations....

With that said, if anyone knows how finnicky the roundball mistress can be, it's Lakers fans. So I won't harp anymore until the finals are said and done. I may harp a little bit but I won't talk as if it's over until the fat man sings....Shaquira Shaquira.....

LAKERS ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO CLIPPERS

As only this franchise of failure could, the Clippers turned what should have been a weekend of celebration into sheer misery for their fans. After needing another team to lose to clinch their first playoff berth in almost a decade, the Clippers sent their faithful home unhappy not once but twice, giving away a rivalry game they had firmly in hand Friday, then not showing up for another last night. The Lakers claimed city bragging rights for the summer with a complete 100-83 domination of a Clippers squad that looked every bit the part of a Staples Center subtenant.

It seemed as though the Clippers physically shrank following their incredible loss to the Kings. Elton Brand posted another double-double, but had to work much harder for his 24 and 10 -- and shoot from farther out -- than Lamar Odom did for his 23 and 15. After witnessing E.B.'s involvement in at least half a dozen failed fast breaks last night, I split the blame equally between Elton and the teammates who kept putting him in situations where he clearly does not excel.

Chris Kaman fared far worse, picking up a foul in the first minute of play and two more by the midway point of the second quarter. Chris ended with 8 and 11, while his Laker counterpart Kwame Brown posted 9 and 8. Vis-a-vis what each was asked and expected to bring, Kwame won the battle at center. To borrow from an old PSA, this is Kaman's brain off drugs -- any questions?

Sam Cassell scored 24 points on 10-20 shooting but had no more assists (four) than Brand. Sam's looking for his shot way too much and not getting his teammates involved enough. He's also taking too many threes, going 2-8 last night. Vladimir Radmanovic went 1-5 from downtown (2-9 overall) and Cuttino Mobley 0-3. In the words of Stu Lantz, 18.8% 3FGs "will not get it done."

The Clippers signed Cat to that fat $42 million contract with visions of bingos in April and May. They traded Chris Wilcox for Vladi for the express purpose of stretching opposing defenses. But until some of these halftime heroes who can't miss in practice start translating it to game time, the Clippers will remain easy to play against in the absence of a legitimate outside threat.

Quinton Ross defended Kobe Bryant beautifully, but was limited to 27 minutes; mostly in the other 21, Bryant (who played all but 39 seconds) struck for 38 points, four below his season average against the Clippers. Odom's breakout game and another impressive performance by Luke Walton (13 and 7 on 6-10 FGs) provided all the support he needed.

The Lakers outscored the Clippers everywhere -- in the paint, at the arc, on the fastbreak, at the charity stripe where they took half again as many free throws. The Lakers were more active and aggressive, pressuring the ball upcourt, jumping into passing lanes, clogging the post, generating 17 Clipper turnovers. At times the Clippers appeared literally to hand the ball over. Shaun Livingston in particular looked like he'd mistakenly sat down at the grown folks' table for Thanksgiving dinner.

Call me Cassandra if you wish. I understand that these two losses (the Mavericks are favored to make it three tonight) aren't the end of the world. The Clippers remain .5 games ahead of Memphis and 1.5 up on Denver for home court in a prospective first-round series. But yet again in games their fans wanted desperately to win, the Clippers wilted. Like Jack Lemmon's clients the Nyborgs in Glengarry Glen Ross, they "kind of imperceptibly slumped."

Click on Clipper Talk and join the discussion. -- Jordan

LA Lakers

The team is renowned for the fanbase of celebrities, such as musicians and movie stars who attend its games. Without question, many are present only during successful times for the team. During such times, near-court seats at an important Laker game are a desirable place for entertainment figures to "be seen". Each network broadcast, and many local broadcasts, of Laker home games invariably includes a few moments taken out to show on camera the various celebrities present at that particular game, and clearly many attendees are more interested in this aspect of their attendance than in the team or the game itself.

la lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are a National Basketball Association team based in Los Angeles, California. They are notable for having (at the end of the 2004–05 season) the highest number of wins (2,621), the highest winning percentage (61.9%), the most number of finals appearances (28), and the second most championships (14), behind the Boston Celtics who have 16. They also have the record for most number of consecutive wins in a season (33).