Indonesia Vs Vietnam: Evan Dimas Meets The Player Who Made Him Wheelchair-bound, Former Heerenven Defender Doan Van Hau

Evan Dimas when he had to be in a wheelchair after the Indonesian national team was defeated by Vietnam at the 2019 Sea Games. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - That night, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in the Philippines, Tuesday, December 10, 2019, the hopes of the Indonesian football team to win gold at the Sea Games again failed. Evan Dimas Darmono et al were defeated by Vietnam in the final with a score of 0-3.

Indonesia must again feel like being number two for the umpteenth time at the ASEAN sporting event. Garuda's stunning appearance since the preliminary round disappeared in the final match.

Indonesian people certainly feel disappointed. But that's not all, because what Indonesian football fans felt the most at the end of 2019 was annoyance to one of the Vietnamese players who was considered to have injured Evan Dimas so that the midfielder had to be in a wheelchair at the end of the match.

The Vietnamese players did play hard at that time. Vietnam coach Park Hang-seo seemed to have instructed him to be able to reduce the individual skills of Garuda employees.

Vietnamese succeed? You could say that if you look at the final score of the game. Indonesian players were also given minimal opportunities, while Vietnam managed to score three goals, two from a set-piece scheme.

However, Vietnam's game was criticized by Indonesian national team fans. The reason, Evan Dimas became a victim because he had to suffer a serious injury due to being tackled by Doan Van Hau, and had to be pulled out to be replaced by Syahrian Abhimanyu in the 25th minute.

If you look at the replay, the tackle made by the Vietnam national team center back is indeed worth debating. There seems to be an element of intentionality, because the ball is still in the middle of the field, not in a dangerous area of Vietnam.

Do Van Hau was seen "taking" Evan Dimas' ankle. Even though the motor of the Indonesian national team's game was only in a position that had just released a pass in the Garuda defense area.

No doubt, Do Van Hau received heavy blasphemy from netizens in the country. Do Van Hau's upload after Vietnam won the 2019 Sea Games was bombarded with thousands of comments, until finally the player limited it.

Evan Dimas, as we all know, is an irreplaceable player in the national team. Since his debut for the Senior National Team in 2014, he has always been the first choice of any coach who manages Garuda.

Now at the 2019 Sea Games, the appearance of the Indonesian national team was almost flawless. Driven by Evan Dimas, Indra Sjafri's team was able to qualify for the final with a great record, winning 5 times by scoring 21 goals and conceding only four times.

The defeat in the final would be an anticlimactic. Indeed, Garuda is often like that, the specialist runner-up in Southeast Asia.

But at the 2019 Sea Games, fans' frustration was not as usual, because of the effects of Doan Van Hau's horror tackle. The assumption is that the Indonesian national team can achieve better results if Evan Dimas is not seriously injured.

Do Van Hau's tackle still remains today. And on Monday 7 June, Evan and Doan Van Hau will be reunited in the 2022 World Cup qualifying event.

However, there are doubts that Doan Van Hau will be demoted. The former Heerenveen defender seems to have been cursed after injuring Evan Dimas.

Doan Van Hau was seriously injured several times. His career with the Eredivisie club SC Heerenveen was far from successful, thus making fans of the Indonesian national team excited.

Even though he was brought into the match against Indonesia later, coach Park Hang-seo might have to think again if he had to play Doan Van Hau. The reason is that the player has been absent for a long time on the gridiron due to a knee injury since the end of 2020.

On the other hand, Evan Dimas is in high confidence after leading the Garuda troops to hold Thailand 2-2 on June 3. The Bhayangkara FC midfielder contributed 1 goal and played well throughout the match.

Evan Dimas after scoring a goal against Thailand. (Photo: Doc. PSSI)

Meanwhile, Vietnam still leads the Group G standings for the 2022 World Cup qualification in the Asian Zone with 11 points. Park Hang-seo's troops are certainly optimistic about being able to escape from this group, where one of the first steps was to beat Indonesia.

Even Park Hang-seo had said, if he failed to beat Indonesia, he would resign from the Vietnam coach seat. An interesting promise to look forward to.

Not only that, football lovers in the country also want to see Doan Van Hau return to play again. He has been awaited by millions of fans of the Indonesian national team who are "missed" of seeing his performance on the field.

This exciting match will be broadcast live again by SCTV television station and MOLA TV streaming service at 23:45. Good luck Garuda!

Forecast Lineup:

Vietnam (4-4-2): Bui Tan Truong; Ho Tan Tai, Vu Van Thanh, Do Duy Manh, Doan Van Hau; Luong Xuan Truong, Nguyen Quang Hai, Phan Van Duc, Nguyen Tuan Anh; Nguyen Cong Phuong, Ha Duc Chinh

Coach: Park Hang-seo (South Korea)

Indonesia (4-2-3-1): Nadeo Argawinata; Asnawi Mangkualam, Rizky Ridho, Arif Satria, Pratama Arhan; Syahrian Abhimanyu, Kadek Agung; Egy Maulana Vikri, Evan Dimas, Adam Alis; Kushedya Yudo