The Meaning Of Marselino Ferdinand's Celebration, It's Not About Silence Critics

Marselino Ferdinand celebrated uniquely when he led the Indonesian national team to win over Saudi Arabia (doc. AFC).

JAKARTA - After four of the five matches marginalized from the starting XI of the Indonesian national team, Marselino Ferdinand again won the trust of Shin Tae-yong from the start in the match against Saudi Arabia.

The 20-year attacking midfielder managed to answer the coach's trust. He bought up two Garuda Squad winning goals over Saudi Arabia 2-0 at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, November 19, 2024, in the Third Round of 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

Marselino celebrated as memorable as his performance that night.

After scoring his second goal, he ran off the pitch and decided to sit in a plastic chair belonging to a ball boy.

However, before that, he attached his finger to his lips, a movement that is usually used to hint at critics to remain silent.

However, he quickly dismissed the view of wanting to silence critics in his celebration.

Instead, he wanted to convey a different message to the supporters of the Indonesian national team in particular.

"There was no intention of anything, it was just me. I used to do that in the U-23 Asian Cup, when I scored against Jordan U-23."

"Nothing special. I just want to tell all the supporters that we shouldn't be complacent. Our focus is not (only) tonight."

"We still have a few more games and will continue to do our best," said Marselino.

As is known, some time ago Marselino was bombarded with criticism. The pressure made him emotional on social media.

Shin Tae-yong expressed his regret for Marselino's attitude in accepting criticism.

However, now his attitude is more mature. Marselino Ferdinand scored in the 32nd and 57th and was named the Best Player of the Match.

The additional coffers of goals have made the number of goals now five of the 29 appearances with the Indonesian national team since debuting in January 2022 in a test match against Timor Leste.

These two goals also became the long wait for the owner of number 7 after his last goal in the 2023 Asian Cup in January 2024, when Indonesia lost 1-3 to Iraq.

Apart from scoring goals, Sofascore recorded Marselino making 36 touches, 11 passes with 64 percent accuracy, four shots into the net, one shot hitting the post.

Artibut also survives classyly. He won six of 15 field duels, one air duel victory from two occasions, one sweep, one intercept, and four tackles from 78 minutes of play.

Marselino has returned to the starting XI. In the six matches that have been played in the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, the 20-year-old means a total of two starters.

Apart from fighting Saudi Arabia, he also took part from the start in the match against Australia. The rest, he appeared as a substitute.