Young SEA Games team pulls Indonesian football back from tragedy and humiliation

PHNOM PENH: Indonesia's men can restore pride to the country's football when they contest the SEA Games final on Tuesday (May 16), following a deadly stadium disaster and humiliation at losing the right to host the U-20 World Cup.

They booked their place in the gold-medal match against Thailand with a pulsating 3-2 win over holders Vietnam.

Gold for Indonesia would be their first in men's SEA Games football since it became an age-group tournament in 2001.

Taufany Muslihuddin was Indonesia's semi-final hero, hitting a 96th-minute winner in Phnom Penh on Saturday.

Underlining what it means to Indonesian football after a turbulent seven months, Taufany collapsed face-down on the grass and shook with emotion, before his teammates piled on top of him.

When the final whistle blew, Indonesian players and officials celebrated wildly on the pitch.

After the win, which came despite having a man sent off on the hour mark, head coach Indra Syafri said that the final was "the moment we've been waiting for to wake up Indonesian football".

Match-winner Taufany echoed that sentiment, noting the "momentum of recovery for Indonesia and the players".

Indonesia, who are ranked 149th in the world, have qualified for the expanded Asian Cup, which takes place in Qatar in January and February next year.

The last time they contested the regional showpiece was in 2007 as co-hosts.

Signs of success on the pitch come during a dark time for Indonesian football.

In October last year, 135 people were killed at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, when police fired tear gas, causing a stampede among spectators.

Tragedy was followed by ignominy when world governing body FIFA relocated the under-20 World Cup from Indonesia to Argentina because of opposition