At this point in time we are likely to blame and deem Nurdin Halid, the current chairman of Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), as a notorious figure who is behind all of the mess plaguing national soccer that has forced the world soccer body FIFA to intervene.
Having looked tough and unrivaled during his period as the PSSI boss since 2003, Nurdin has started to lose grip on his position over the last couple of months.
That is mostly due to the chain reaction that he set off when he tried to stop the LPI (Liga Primer Indonesia), a rival competition initiated by businessman Arifin Panogoro in a show of protest against the official competition that relies on regional budgets as the main financial source.
Upon assessing what has happened and what will follow in this conflict, I think it is best for us to understand the core of the problem based on appropriate logic before judging.
It is not Nurdin, regardless of the way the society has turned against him, however, who should be held responsible for the malfunction of our national soccer.
He has in fact contributed a lot to the PSSI, in spite of his criminal track record.
Nurdin was behind the division of the Indonesian soccer league into two regions: West and East.
Although it proved short-lived, the policy saw an increase in the number of clubs and more chance for new talent to develop, especially those from the eastern part of Indonesia who had been overlooked.
Nurdin was also a player behind Indonesia’s outstanding performance in the latest AFC Cup in
December 2010, although the national team was beaten in the final by Malaysia.
The naturalization of foreign and foreign-based players, which became a major focus of the media during the AFC Cup fever, is one of Halid’s legacies that put Indonesia back on the international scene.
The point is that Halid has indeed done some major things to revolutionize the system as the PSSI chief.
Nevertheless, Indonesian society tends to review the case in such a way that we end up missing the core problem, which is far more serious than simply who should lead the PSSI.
I personally believe that it is not the PSSI chairman himself but the entire structure of the organization that is in need of sweeping reform.
A telling example of this was clearly seen when the media reported the news that Indonesia crashed out of the Olympic Games 2012 qualifying.
That Turkmenistan, a nation deemed as having a lower quality soccer than Indonesia, managed to send Yongki Aribowo and his young colleagues out of the Olympics was supposedly a matter that warranted self-reflection.
The event prompted an immediate conclusion that Indonesia’s young soccer talent had not improved compared to those from fellow developing countries. This contradicts the fact that the PSSI once had a youth league that was a breeding ground of future national and professional players.
If the young talent is not handled with care, how can we hope for them to realize our long-waited achievement?
Regardless of the desires of the stakeholders, soccer should belong to the general public or every person in this country. That part is something that we have been missing with the recent administration of the PSSI.
The axis of Nurdin, PSSI secretary general Nugraha Besoes and deputy chairman Nirwan Bakrie were often at the forefront of key decision-making, such as in the case of the ticket prices fiasco ahead of the AFC Cup final match.
The dominant role of the trinity and efforts to dethrone them have sparked allegations of a conspiracy, particularly as the government has clearly displayed its disapproval of the incumbent PSSI leaders.
Given the complexity of the issue, it is obvious that at the end the press and the people will seek someone to blame. Enter Nurdin, with his sort of criminal background and his decision to cling to power, who has now been deemed as the source of all the problems.
Yet, despite all of the accusations, let us exercise our wisdom by viewing Nurdin as not the only person we should blame for the decline of Indonesian soccer.
Not only the boss, indeed, but the system and certain other members of the PSSI should also share the responsibilities for failing to listen to the true needs of Indonesian soccer in the past.
Finally we have to ask ourselves: Will the future PSSI, with or without Nurdin, be able to reform and reach what we have long expected, or will it be no better than it is today?
The writer is an English language student at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta
No comments:
Post a Comment