Waiting For Garuda Muda Wings To Rock Paris Sky

Photo By Andry Winarko VOI

JAKARTA - "Give me ten youths so I will shake the world," said President Soekarno's speech, not a figment. The sound of happy screams in every corner was heard shaking the sky when a white round ball from the Indonesian national team entered the South Korean goal.

Eleven football players who are members of the Indonesian national team have succeeded in bringing together differences from various boring political issues and criminal issues that are increasingly beyond reason.

Modern football is microscopic in the advancement of a nation's civilization. The more advanced a nation's civilization is, the more advanced football in the country is. Because on the one hand, the development and management of modern football demands high values of mentality, morality, and intellectuality. A developed country must have these three aspects in high quality standards.

Some countries that have strong traditions in the world of football such as Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, England, and Italy have never run out of player resources due to good regeneration.

Why, for example, a country with a population of only 17 million like the Netherlands never ran out of football talent? Why do Italy and Germany never run out of superior goalkeepers? Why does France never run out of st

talented players in the national team? Questions like these are closely related to how the coaching and selection system of young players is built and implemented.

Regeneration or coaching at a young age is needed in the world of football. In addition to coaching starting from an early age, there are two other factors that cannot be judged with one eye, referees and coaches.

Improve Referee Quality, Optimistic Indonesian Football Flying!

The referee is someone who was appointed as the leader of the match for decision-making in a match and in collaboration with assistant referees and the fourth official if there is an assignment. Completing the quality of referees in Indonesia is believed to improve the quality and quality of the league spinning in the country.

Chairman of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir stated that his party will continue to strive so that the quality of PSSI referees is at the highest level. So that the competition can run cleanly, fairly, and according to the rules of matches in accordance with national and international standards.

"I once said that the reason I led the refereeing committee was none other than so that the corps, which were highlighted a lot, had a better quality at all times," Erick said in a written statement received Monday, May 6.

The seriousness of fixing the quality of league referees in the country is proven by PSSI by cooperating with the Japan Football Association (JFA) to provide training and courses for the leader of the match. Erick emphasized that in addition to cooperating with JFA, PSSI would ask FIFA to provide additional knowledge for referees who had previously been educated by JFA.

"By involving FIFA and also JFA, I am optimistic that efforts to restore the image of our referee, which is still considered one-sided, will work," explained Erick Thohir.

The course of adding knowledge to the educated referees consisted of referee assessment mechanisms, referee training for assistant referees of League 1, legalization of the game (LOTG), referee committee with League 1 and League 2 clubs, courses and instructors' refreshments, as well as selection of referees CI and CII Putra Putri U-25. The course and training for referee judges was conducted by PSSI in the middle of last year. The goal is to improve the competence quality of league 1 and league 2.

"The focus is on the two main points, namely evaluation and analysis of the referee's performance assessment and assistant referees in Liga 1 until the 11th week. They are also prepared to assess the referee who will serve in Liga 2 in 2023-2024," he said.

The Minister of SOEs emphasized that SOEs do not hesitate to continue to support popular activities in the community, one of which is through sports and football. This support is part of the BUMN Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSR) program.

Guinean Team Preparations For Young Garuda U-23

The U-23 Indonesian national team managed to make a new history by qualifying for the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. Not only did they qualify, but Garuda Muda was able to spread its wings into the semifinals after overthrowing Asian giants such as South Korea and Australia.

This needs to be appreciated by all Indonesian people. Even losing to Uzbekistan in the semifinals, Garuda Muda still has the opportunity to add to his record of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics despite starting from the start against Guinea on May 9.

Indonesia managed to become the country with the highest ranking increase based on the FIFA ranking which was released on April 4, from its 74nd rank to its 134th position in the world.

Indonesian football observer Justinus Lhaksana said football has grown very rapidly in Indonesia after the achievements made by the Indonesian national team in the senior and U-23 categories.

"Football is really (developing) very powerful in Indonesia. A phenomenon that I have never even seen in other countries," said the coach who is familiarly called Coach Justin as quoted from the personal Instagram page: @coachjustinl in Jakarta, Monday, May 6.

The former coach of the Indonesian futsal national team said that this is the first time he has seen Indonesia's achievements that have developed rapidly, both senior and U-23 national teams.

"The increase in ranking was inseparable from the victory of the Indonesian national team over Vietnam in the 2026 World Cup Qualification event for the Asian zone which was held in March, which made Garuda collect 30.04 points, bringing it to 1102.7 points," he said.

Garuda Muda's achievements certainly made the coach of the Guinean national team have to rethink and not underestimate the U-23 national team from Indonesia. In order to beat the U-23 Indonesian national team, the U-23 Guinea national team coach, Kaba Diawara, called Barcelona's Ilaix Moriba, Saidou Sow, Facinet Conte and Ibrahim Diakite at the 2024 Paris Olympics playoffs. This information was officially disclosed on the account around the Guinea National Team @Joueurs_GN.

"They are Ilaix Moriba, Saidou Sow, Facinet Conte and Ibrahim Diakite. These names join in to try to get tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics," the report continued.

In his preparation, Diawara has monitored the U-23 Indonesian national team and gave appreciation for the quality of the team. According to him, Garuda Muda is a team that is well organized and has a high level of discipline. He also admitted that Indonesia is a tough opponent.

The match on Thursday, May 9 has an important meaning for both countries. The reason is that both teams entered the playoffs after both were ranked fourth in the U-23 Asian Cup. Therefore, the match will be fierce and interesting to watch.

The Indonesian National Team Goes Straight To Paris

The struggle of the Indonesian national team in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup has indeed ended. However, efforts to win tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics are still ongoing. Garuda Muda must face the representative of Africa, Guinea U-23, in a playoff match between confederations to win one remaining ticket to France.

PSSI General Chair Erick Thohir, in his statement Monday (6/5/2024), explained that the players did immediately go to France without going back to the country first. Erick reasoned that the team's physical condition would decrease if they had to return to the country first.

"I asked them (the players) whether they still want to play? They answered still. One of them I said, it is impossible for us to go home (to Indonesia) and then go back to France. If they go home first it will make stamina drop, especially since many players are still injured. Not to mention the weather in France 11 degrees Celsius which is far from Qatar which is 22 to 33. Therefore, I offered them to go straight away and they wanted to," said Erick.

Erick also explained that the departure of the national team directly to France was needed for adjustments in order to make optimal preparations to realize the dream of playing at the Paris Olympics. Erick added that the opportunity for Garuda Muda to be able to play at the 2024 Paris Olympics is also still open through the match against Guinea.

"We have to fight in a match against Guinea. If we raise the white flag, then our chances of going to the Olympics are gone," he said.

The Indonesian U-23 national team still has the opportunity to act in the world's highest sporting competition in Paris through the playoffs against representatives from Africa on May 9. Guinea appeared in this match because it was in fourth place in the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in 2023. Based on FIFA rankings released in April 2024, Guinea ranked 76th FIFA with 1,324.65 points.