MICHAEL ESSIEN WITH PERSIB JERSEY
Five former Premier League stars went to Indonesia this season and
their adventures have been as varied and colourful as the vast
archipelago itself, with lashings of cash, recriminations, culture shock
and endings as predictable as most Enid Blyton Famous Five tales. In
the space of a few weeks in March and April, Michael Essien, Carlton
Cole, Peter Odemwingie, Mohamed Sissoko and Didier Zokora all arrived in
south-east Asia. Two have already gone, one is a hero, and the other
two players find themselves somewhere in between.
For a country without much history of big-name signings, this was a
change. Lee Hendrie and Marcus Bent had provided a little Premier League
pedigree in the previous decade. Mario Kempes and Roger Milla were more
famous but their early to mid-90s spells were fading in the memory.
peter odemwingie playing on madura united
In truth, Indonesian clubs have had plenty of other things to think
about in recent times. In 2015, there was no league at all as Fifa
banned the country from the international game because of government
interference in the sport, but that almost came as a relief after years
of turmoil. In 2003 the federation chief, Nurdin Halid, was imprisoned
for corruption. There followed breakaway federations, leagues and
national teams. When foreign players made the headlines, the stories
tended to be tragic such as the death in 2012 of the Paraguayan Diego
Mendieta, who was unable to afford medical bills after his club failed
to pay his wages.
Indonesia’s passion for the game is undeniable but can sometimes go
too far – Save our Soccer, a watchdog group, estimates that a recent fan
death was the 54th football-related fatality since the mid-90s and the
36th in the past five years – and the country’s interest in the game is
matched only by its impatience. Frank de Boer could spare a thought for
the Austrian Hans-Peter Schaller, sacked by Bali United just two games
into his new job. In Indonesia, honeymoons are for beaches, not pitches.
All imports, famous or not, had better perform from the start if they
are to avoid an early exit and that is especially true at Persib
Bandung. The biggest club in the country signed Cole and Essien and
expectations were intense. But with the season less than a month old
(and fans grumbling about the style of play from a team that were then
top of the table), it was clear that Cole was not going to last long.
The former West Ham forward arrived in Asia looking as fresh as a Friday
afternoon commuter after a week stuck in the traffic of Indonesia’s
third-biggest city. The 33-year-old spent much of his time standing in
the penalty area waiting for crosses that never came. He failed to score
a single goal.
carltone cole
Rumours soon abounded that Cole had not been wanted by the team
manager, Umuh Muchtar, and that there was a battle for control being
waged behind the scenes at the club owned by the Internazionale chairman, Erick Thohir.
Umuh kept up his offensive, saying in May that playing with the No9 was
akin to playing with 10 men and claiming that Cole had been selected
for a third game – his first start for the club after two substitute
appearances – only to show curious fans why the striker was not being
selected.
Umuh was not the head coach, though, that was Djadjang Nurdjaman, a
legend of the club who was also soon on his way out; team manager is
often the more powerful position in south-east Asian clubs. Before he
left, Djadjang put Cole’s and Essien’s lethargic starts down to a lack
of pre-season, acclimatisation and sleep. Cole’s nightmare finally ended
in August after just 268 minutes of action. The former England forward,
who had kept his cool when all about him were not finding his head,
finally found his target on social media. “I haven’t been treated fairly
but I kept my mouth shut and worked hard and kept everything
professional,” he posted.
Essien is still there, better but hardly imperious. There have been
touches, through-balls and the occasional assist and goal but the former
Real Madrid and Chelsea midfielder has not shown the form that so endeared him to the Stamford Bridge faithful.
If Essien, reportedly receiving an annual salary of about $750,000
(£10,000 a week), has not exactly excelled in Indonesia, then the same
was true of Didier Zokora at Semen Padang. The midfielder did not score
in three seasons with Tottenham and was not going to change that in just
over three months in Sumatra. The Ivorian was released as the club
struggled to pay his salary after eight matches and no goals.
momo sissoko playing with mitra kukar
There has been better news elsewhere. The former Liverpool midfielder
Sissoko has impressed at Mitra Kukar, chipping in with five goals for
the Borneo club. But there is no doubt as to which of the five is the
happiest: Odemwingie may have been ridiculed in England for driving down to QPR on transfer deadline day
in a failed attempt to secure a move from West Brom but the 36-year-old
Nigerian has been driving Madura United up the table. In the first half
of the season at least, he could hardly stop scoring: long-range
howitzers, headers, tidy finishes and the occasional scuffed shot. He
raced to 13 goals from the first 12 games.
A mixed, and expensive, bag then. But the most successful import of
all could end up being Simon McMenemy. The 39-year-old manager from
Aberdeen has led unfashionable Bhayangkara, owned by the country’s head
policeman, to the top of the league with a third of the season
remaining. Sometimes it is not all about the money and these days in
football, that really would be a story.
(fm/dn)
