The incident-packed 2023 SEA Games football final match ended in favor of Indonesia with a 5-2 win over Thailand in extra time. The long thirst of more than three decades was drenched away overnight.
By
I GUSTI AGUNG BAGUS ANGGA PUTRA AND DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO FROM PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA
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AFP/NHAC NGUYEN
Indonesia's team celebrates on the podium after winning the men's football final match against Thailand during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Phnom Penh on May 16, 2023.
PHNOM PENH, KOMPAS — After last winning gold at the 1991 SEA Games, Indonesia has finally regained glory in football 32 years later. The final match, which took place at the Olympic National Stadium in Phnom Penh on Tuesday evening (16/5/2023), wrapped up the Indonesian U-22 team’s impressive performance throughout the competition since the group stage.
After the match, coach Indra Sjafri told Kompas that the victory should be a turning point for the revival of Indonesian football.
As the match in normal time was coming to a close, an awkward moment occurred with Indra Sjafri and several team members rushing onto the field to celebrate and congratulate each other before they realized the game was not over yet.
They had mistaken the throw-in whistle for the end of the game as Indonesia was leading 2-1 on the scoreboard, thanks to Ramadhan Sananta's double with Thailand’s goal scored by Anan Yodsangwal.
The premature celebration cost dearly. It seemed to have distracted the players’ concentration and focus. With Indonesia being seconds away from victory, Thailand made the most of the throw-in to launch a last-ditch offensive. It worked as Yotsakorn Burapha managed to find the net to equalize for 2-2. The match went into extra time.
"I saw the time was ticking out and heard a whistle [thought to mark end of game]. I was so elated [I was unable to hold back from] entering the field,” Indra said, adding that the whole game unfolded in quite a dramatic nature.
The atmosphere in extra-time game turned heated on and off the pitch. The referee sent off Indonesia’s Komang Teguh Trisnanda and Thailand’s Soponwit Rakyart for an off-the-ball clash soon after Irfan Jauhari had put Indonesia back in front. The bench commotion also prompted the referee to show red cards to one staff member from each of the opposing sides.
Thailand, which was enduring a difficult time holding back the onslaught of Indonesian players, was forced to commit harsh fouls, which resulted in the dismissal of Jonathan Khemdee and Teerasak Poeiphimai for second bookable offences.
KOMPAS
"Garuda Muda" players celebrate Indonesia's victory over Thailand in the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games final at the Olympic National Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday (16/5/2023).
We’ll try to make this [win] a tradition in the future.
Playing with a two-man advantage, the Young Garudas were able to add two goals through M Fajar Fathur Rahman and Beckham Putra.
“The match was very tight. However, as the coach had instructed, we managed to catch them out with a counterattacking strategy. With this [achievement], we prove Indonesia is worthy of being great [in football]. The gold drought lasted 32 years. It's not a short time," goalkeeper Ernando Ari Sutaryadi said.
The Indonesian sporting delegation’s Chef de Mission Lexyndo Hakim extended his appreciation and gratitude to staff members, prayers for the achievement as well as the government and the people back home for their support.
"We’ll try to make this [win] a tradition in the future. Of course, athletes from all sports should be able to maintain commitment and consistency to keep on winning," he said.
Repeat of success
Indra's success in guiding the Indonesian U-22 football team to win the SEA Games further confirmed how "friendly" Cambodia has been to him. He brought a team to Cambodia in 2019 for the AFF U-22 Cup and returned home victorious. His past success story had built up almost in the same way as at the SEA Games, with his squad beating Vietnam 1-0 in the semifinals before overcoming Thailand 2-1 in the final.
Given the buildup to the SEA Games, the success of the Young Garudas is the fruit of a two-month process, which many consider a relatively short period of preparation. Indra began shortlisting the players from Liga 1 and Liga 2 on March 1 to undergo a selection, based on their performance records at the clubs. Around 80 percent of them participated in the selection for the first time. Indra wanted to pick potentially prospective players who might have missed being monitored.
FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN
Indonesian National Team supporters sing and dance in the Hotel Indonesia (HI) Roundabout area, Jakarta, while celebrating the Indonesian National Team's victory in the 2023 SEA Games football final, Tuesday (16/5/2023) evening.
The selection was carried out in three stages before Indra formed a fixed list of the 20 best players. The following work was to find the best players in their respective positions for the best line-up of 11 starters.
He continued to shuffle the players throughout the Games making several changes in the four matches in the group phase. He shifted Alfeandra Dewangga from center back to defensive midfield. Except for the front line, for which he looked to have settled with his game plane, he found himself having to tweak out the three positions in midfield, which he did during the group matches.
During this stage, he adopted periodization of the players in the hope they could reach their peak in the semifinals and finals. In the group’s last match against host Cambodia, Indra closed his experiment, having got the best line-up of 11 starters.
The success in winning the elusive gold is attributed also to the off-pitch management, in which team members were discouraged from excessive euphoria over accomplishments in the semifinal. Player activities were limited to the hotel premises. Their social media interactions were closely securitized. Their psychological shape was monitored by psychologists.
Given the fact that the SEA Games football competition adopts an age limit for participating players, it is not appropriate to point to the competition’s success as the ultimate goal in the football development program. Success should open a new page of challenges for the young players to pursue in their professional careers.
