Football Nationalism
Football Nationalism Nasionalisme Sepakbola Indonesia Garuda di Dadaku – The Garuda on My Chest – is the title of a series of feature films telling the story of a boy’s desire to play for the Indonesian national football team. The title of the films was also adopted by Prabowo Subianto during the 2014 presidential campaign. […]
Sindhunata
Sindhunata The writings of Sindhunata are further evidence of the often greater-privileged status of global football over that of the national team and the domestic leagues of Indonesia. Sindhunata is the author of three books on football: Bola di Balik Bulan (The Ball Behind the Moon), Air Mata Bola (The Tears of the Ball) and […]
Seno Writes Soccer
Seno Writes Soccer, Seno Menulis Sepakbola Seno Gumira Ajidarma (born 1957, Boston), one of Indonesia’s most prominent authors, has contributed to the discourse on soccer in Indonesia through the means of short stories, journalism and academic writings. These writings reflect his trajectory as a writer and also the professions and jobs that he acquires. […]
Fajar Junaedi, Bonek
Fajar Junaedi, Bonek, Yogyakarta: Buku Litera, 2012. Fajar Junaedi’s Bonek: Komunitas Suporter Pertama dan Terbesar di Indonesia (Bonek: The First and Largest Supporter Community in Indonesia) is the first major study of football fans in Indonesia. It examines Bonek, the large and highly visible fan club of Surabaya’s Persebaya soccer team and traces the development […]
Zlatanism
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Lagercrantz, I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic, trans.Ruth Urbom, London: Penguin, 2011. I am reading Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s autobiography yes I am. In the late 1990s, Malmo Football Club (Malmo Fotbollforening, MFF) was relegated to the second division. The documentary Bladarar shows some of their fans in tears as the final whistle of the […]
Arsenalism
Arsenalism I am reading Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch, yes I am. This is Hornby’s first book, and now, it has been reprinted probably dozens of times, continuously repackaged in a different cover with a different font and page layout – just in the manner of soccer teams and their endless slight variations on the team’s […]
Politics of Soccer in Indonesia
Politics of Soccer in Indonesia Politik Sepakbola di Indonesia Nurdin Halid occupies the inglorious position of having been the only national soccer boss, to have run the sport’s governing body from within jail. He is perhaps also the most hated man in soccer in Indonesia: for he governed (mismanaged, corrupted) the PSSI (Perserikatan Sepak Bola […]
Ultras Hooligans
The Cikampek Toll Road was closed in the lead up to the Persib – Persija football match as a result of a confrontation between Persija fans (known as Jakmania) with the police. Some of the Jakmania fans damaged vehicles and looted their contents – reports say. The game was halted several times due to crowd […]
Football Soundscapes
Each stadium has its own architecture. The gently rising terraces of suburban football grounds or the steep stands of the MCG. Stadium architecture is a response to the size of the field upon which the game is played. Australian football developed in borderless paddocks: and the grounds we have now reflect the early expanses. I […]
I Heart Pasoepati
Football team merchandise is a necessary means for creating a club’s image and subculture. It’s attractive for youth and stakes a claim for difference from the mainstream. The styles of the t-shirts also provide a link with the pop cultures of music and other football teams. Through the posing of the amateur models, an anthropologist […]