Ersatz Capitalism and Indonesian Football
*Guest post by Fajar Junaedi of Muhamadiyah University, Yogyakarta **This article is a translation of Kapitalism Semu dan Kegagalan Swastanisasi Sepak Bola Indonesia. There is a missing link in professional football in Indonesia. The combination of the Association clubs with those of the Galatama (professional) clubs was intended to create a holistic professional competition. But, […]
Watching MVV Maastricht
*Originally published on Shoot Farken as “Modern Football and Urban Alienation Under the Golden Arches in Maastricht” An underground freeway is being built on the eastern edge of Maastricht. The current site is a broad expanse of dust. Middle of the range sedans and trucks speed along the four lane, two-way road. There are as […]
Watching Sparta Rotterdam
Or, “The Last Day of The Season” The weather is mild: this is an evening for t-shirts and light jackets. The train leaves for Dordrecht from Leiden at 18:30 and will stop at Schiedam Centrum more or less at 1900. This allows for a twenty minute journey to Het Kasteel (The Castle), via the RET […]
Preview: Port vs Tiges
Uncle Tony barracks for Port. Aunty Kip barracks for Port. Uncle Tony is a joker. I’m not sure of his job. I remember he gave me a Crowded House cassette when I was seven, one Christmas in Helmsedale Avenue, Glengowrie. Aunty Kip is a nurse, who changed her name from Cheryl as a teenager. I’ve […]
Stadia Indonesia
Last year I visited a few soccer stadiums in Yogyakarta. Here are some of my photos. Krida Sono, Yogyakarta Krida Sono, from the South End, looking North Mandala Krida, from the South, looking North Mandala Krida, Southern End and Eastern-stand Rennovations Tridadi Stadium, South End, looking South Tridadi Scoreboard, Northern Yogyakarta Tridadi Panorama *If you […]
Watching RVV Kocatepe
Gouda, Olympia v. Kocatepe, 3:1 Take the 12:52 intercity in the direction of Utrecht, get off at Alphen aan den Rijn, then take the 13:12 sprinter to Gouda. Do not get off at Boskoop or Waddinxveen Noord or Waddinxveen. As the train slows to a halt, a candidate passenger spits at the train. He has […]
Brajamusti of PSIM
PSIM, a football club based in Yogyakarta and founded in 1929, has seen better years. The club is well and truly in the second tier of the domestic competition and suffers from poor management and fan violence. The violence not only occurs between fans of rival clubs but also between the two main supporter groups […]
Bonek 1927 v PSSI
The supporters of Persebaya 1927, have been protesting the fate of their Club for several years. Their anger is increasing; protests are intensifying. The protests are taking place on the streets of Surabaya and very heavily also on social media. Bonek 1927 are protesting against the monopolising of power within the PSSI by La Nyalla […]
An Afternoon with the Pasoepati Crew
*An edited version of this was published in The Jakarta Post. Before I got back on the train to Yogyakarta, my friend, Ramdhon said, “take your t-shirt off – it is better not to wear it in Yogyakarta, or even on the train.” Yogyakarta and Solo are seemingly locked in ongoing tensions: two nearby cities […]
The Catastrophe of PSS Sleman
The Catastrophe of PSS Sleman Sofyan, an Acehnese man, living in Yogyakarta runs a small stall by the side of Lapangan Minggiran (Minggiran Field) in the southern part of the city. His regular customers are largely ex-soccer players from the local leagues. Some are doing it tough, others have regular jobs as coaches or accountants. […]