Former Persebaya And Legenda Of The Indonesian National Team, Rudy Keltjes, Dies

JAKARTA - Indonesian football lost one of the best legends and former Persebaya Surabaya player, Rudy Wiliam Keltjes. The legend passed away on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

Information on Rudy Keltjes' departure was shared by PSSI's official account on Instagram. Through this upload, the federation also expressed its condolences.

"Our hearts and minds are with our family and closest relatives of the late Ruddy William Keltjes at this very tough time. The best prayers for the deceased," PSSI wrote in an Instagram account quoted Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

Rudy was a well-known defender and midfielder in the 1970s to 1980s. The man who was born in Situbondo, East Java, February 12, 1952, has an important contribution to Persebaya for successfully bringing the United champions team to 1977.

Not only brought Persebaya to win, he was also named the Best Player of the United in 1977. In the final match, Rudy scored Persebaya's winning goal over Persija at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium.

This success made him called PSSI to strengthen the Indonesian national team. Several international events that Rudy and the Indonesian national team participated in include the 1979 and 1983 SEA Games.

After winning with Persebaya, Rudy brought Niac Mitra to win the 1980-1982 and 1982-1983 Galatama seasons. He also escorted Niac Mitra to win the 1979 Aga Khan in Bangladesh.

After competing on the grid as a player, at the end of 1980 Rudy began his career as a coach.

Initially, he had served as assistant to Muhamad Basri at Niac Mitra. His early career in coaching also bore fruit at the beginning because he managed to lead the winning team in the 1987-1988 season.

After that, Rudy had time to handle big Indonesian teams, such as Persebaya, Persipura Jayapura, and PSM Makassar. He also served as coach of the U-22 Indonesian national team in 2014.

Until this news was published, the cause of the legend's death was still being confirmed.

The names, such as Febri Hariyadi, Sabeq Fahmi, Fahmi Al Ayudi, Junda Irawan, and Martinus Novianto once felt Rudy Keltjes' cold hands while in charge of Indonesia U-19 B, the Indonesia U-19 coating team which sided Evan Dimas and his friends and trained by Indra Sjafri.