The Arsenal Indonesian Supporters Club celebrates its 10th
anniversary this year in the best way imaginable. They will welcome Arsenal as
they come to the country for the first time since 1983 when they played games
in Medan, Jakarta and Surabaya.
This year Arsenal will play just the one friendly as part of
an Asian jaunt that is also reported to take in Japan and Vietnam so there time
in country will be limited and strictly controlled; fans hoping to bump into
players like Theo Walcott and Per Mertesacker in Plasa Senayan are likely to be
disappointed.
But that is unlikely to dampen the enthusiasm of the
passionate Arsenal fans desperate for a chance to see their heroes in the
flesh.
Rawindraditya is the head of the Indonesian Supporters Club
and like the other fans he is excited about July’s visit. As we sat in a bar in
CITOS he proudly boasted of the Supporters Club, their numbers and their
achievements.
‘We had about 200 go to Malaysia in 2011,’ he said, ‘for
Arsenal’s first friendly there. We had the largest banner and there were many
more fans that travelled over from Indonesia.’
That number of 200 was just those that travelled on the
official tour. Many, many more made their own way, not just from Jakarta but
Bandung, Semarang, Medan, Pekanbaru and other points of the Indonesian compass.
The support that night from the Indonesian Arsenal fans was
perhaps the first indication the country was an untapped gold mine. In recent
years Manchester United and Everton have pulled out of high profile friendlies
in the country, the first because of a bombing directed at the team’s hotel,
but while the likes of LA Galaxy, Bayern Munchen and Inter have visited no
English club has bothered.
This July potentially sees three with Arsenal, Liverpool and
Chelsea looking at games in Jakarta.
Out of a national membership of 6,000 Rawaindraditya
anticipates about 1,500 will come to Jakarta for the weekend from around the
country, staying in a hall specially booked for the visit and the club leader
has been racking his brain as to how to keep the visitors busy during their
short stay in the capital.
‘We are waiting for details from Arsenal what events they
will hold,’ he explains. Typically the club would have a meet and greet session
where fans could line up for an opportunity to have their photograph taken with
a player and perhaps have their replica shirt autographed while a training
session open to the public is also a common event but nothing has been
confirmed by the club.
In the vacuum Rawindraditya is thinking about hiring 30
buses to take the supporters on a city tour round Jakarta! The normal options,
a futsal competition for example, would be difficult to organize as Arsenal’s
visit coincides with the fasting month of Ramadhan.
Given the holy month the supporters club are also asking
members to bring books which will then be distributed to local orphanages.
It’s not just Indonesians looking forward to the game.
Rawindraditya has been in contact with supporters from Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand, Philippines and Australia who are looking forward to enjoying the
spectacle of a near full house at the cavernous Bung Karno Stadium.
After me asking several questions Rawindraditya decided to
turn the tables and ask me one. He leaned forward, eyes burning, ‘why is our
membership increasing? We have eight years without a trophy yet still more
people want to join. We have problems keeping up with membership packs, so many
want to join us.’
It’s obvious he is strung by criticisms from football fans
in England who blame Asian fans for the direction the game is taken. They are,
it is perceived, the ones who willingly pay the prices for replica shirts and
other merchandise and are happy to pay the high ticket prices the club demands
and receive.
‘If we are glory hunters why don’t we stop supporting
Arsenal and all support MU (the Indonesian way of saying Manchester United)?
Why do our numbers go up every year?’
‘We have more members than Liverpool and Chelsea. Only MU
have more than us.’ He laughed when I asked about Manchester City. ‘Forget
them’.
Answering his own question he feels people are attracted to
the Arsenal by the football philosophy of Arsene Wenger. They are happy to see
the beautiful football even if the team doesn’t win. Something that is
certainly at odds with an older generation of fan who recall the success of the
George Graham years built on a solid defence. He, like many others, doesn’t
understand the debate among Arsenal fans in England whether Wenger should stay
or go. ‘Look what he’s done’ is his reply to that.
Indonesia is a long way from London N5 and it is fair to say
despite the dreams the vast majority of the Supporters Club will never get to
see a game in England. For them the Arsenal coming to Indonesia is a dream come
true, a tale they will never tire of repeating to their mates and family for
years to come. For them an Arsenal without Wenger is unthinkable. They are just
looking forward to a memorable visit.
SOURCE - an edited version of this appeared in Jakarta Globe 22/3/13
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