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The AFF Suzuki Cup Final has arrived and even though in the whole world generally, this regional (ASEAN) football competition might not be too insignificant compared to certain domestic football competitions such as the Barclays Premier League just to name one. However, I could almost guarantee that people from outside of the football mad region would not understand the importance and the sheer enthusiasm that is emanating from the fans. This is especially true for the countries which are still involved in this competition, Malaysia and Indonesia. The euphoria in both of these countries, especially in the ultra football mad Indonesia is really overwhelming. The AFF Suzuki Cup Final is really anticipated even more so than a World Cup Final. This is especially true since Indonesia has not won this regional competition stretching back all the way from 1991 and now they have a perfectly great chance to go all the way this time with their “Bule” (Pron. Boo-Lay) infused team. “Bule” is a colloquial Indonesian term for Western people in general and anyone with Western blood in their veins and also even for someone who looks Western, and thus in this context, it refers to Christian “El Loco” Gonzales, the naturalized Indonesian striker of Uruguay origin, and Irfan Bachdim, a promising young striker with Dutch heritages.

The anticipation and the hype of this final is compounded by the very fact that this is a Final contested between Malaysia and Indonesia. Unless one has been hiding on an island somewhere a la Robinson Crusoe, generally people would know that any contest between Malaysia and Indonesia is likely to be so much more than just a mere contest, and this football match is no exception. Recent problems between these countries have been very well documented, from territorial disputes to disputes regarding certain cultural aspects of both countries among others and thus the two-legged Final encounter between these two countries are sure to be a feisty showdown between two rivals vying not only for victory in the competition but also for bragging rights and for the national prides of both sides. The first leg was to be played in the luxurious and grand Bukit Jalil Stadium in Shah Alam, near Kuala Lumpur. The bookmakers’ favorites were sure to be Indonesia for their amazing and trailblazing performance in this competition after many years of abject failures. While Malaysia’s progress to the final was considered really low profile especially so as they started this competition by being defeated 5-1 by none other than Indonesia in their Group A opening encounter.

With that in mind, Malaysia were supposed to just be good boys and just let Indonesia put the icing on the cake by just letting themselves to be obliterated just like how this competition started and let Indonesia hog all the glory that has been eluding them for two decades in this competition. Malaysia were not to follow the seemingly designated script though, especially not in front of their ardent fans clad in their Yellow-Black kits. Indonesia were swept aside 3-0, which leaves them needing to win by at least 4 goals in the return leg in Jakarta. Many people were and are still wondering why Indonesia suddenly capitulated when it really matters, when they are within a touching distance to securing a comfortable victory against their bitter rivals in almost all aspects, Malaysia.

Firstly, almost everyone in Indonesia is talking about how their goalkeeper, Markus Horison was obstructed by a laser pointed to his eyes by an irresponsible Malaysian supporter which resulted in at least one of the three goals scored by Malaysia last night. To be frank, yours truly was not able to give an objective assessment on this as I was unfortunately still driving on the road on the way back for a large chunk of the match, but if it is true that a Malaysian fan deliberately pointed laser beams everytime the match ball gets close to Markus Horison, then it is not fair play at all and thus this is one of the other reasons why Indonesia lost this match, and heavily.

Secondly, Indonesia really lost this match because of their rather over-reliance on the aforementioned two “Bule” players, Christian Gonzales and Irfan Bachdim. As a comparison with a top team, Manchester City is a great example to illustrate this. Manchester City have been really criticized recently because of their over-reliance on Carlos Tevez. Balls are always sprayed towards the Argentine and it is totally left to the Argentine striker to do magic about it. Another team like this would be the pre-Mourinho Internazionale with Ibrahimovic as the sole fulcrum of the team. In last night’s match, the Indonesian national team was no different as it can be noticed clearly that balls are always sprayed towards either Christian Gonzales or Irfan Bachdim. This kind of strategy and mentality are always easy to be read by opponents and Malaysia were no exceptions. Every time a ball is sprayed towards the two “Bule” strikers, there were hordes of Blue shirts ready to intercept them, and when even the bulky Christian Gonzales falter against the hordes of blue shirts, even more so the diminutive and pint-sized Irfan Bachdim. When the two strikers are neutralized, so do the whole team and thus, the rather surprising 3-0 result for Malaysia is not so surprising anymore.

Again as a comparison, Malaysia were very comfortable passing the ball all over the field. They initiate their attacks from everywhere to everywhere. Left, Centre, and Right, just do the permutations and combinations, and rightly so, Indonesia really struggled to cope with that. Just as a side note, Malaysia really have quite amazing players in their squad, and it is no coincidence that they have produced quite a sturdy team, as recently, they implemented a rule which totally forbids foreign players from the M-League. This is much criticized, but looking at how the Malaysian national team is performing at the moment, it seems that the controversial and groundbreaking rule has started to pay dividends as they are just 90 minutes away from winning the AFF Suzuki Cup, and on Indonesia’s soil to boot! The composition of the Malaysian team consists of all local players and I am particularly impressed with the performance and confidence of their goalkeeper, Khairul Fahmi, who is only 21 years old but has a presence and confidence of a seasoned goalkeeper.

This shows than when young, local born players are given a chance equally, one could do wonders. As for Indonesia, the introduction of a local hero, Bambang Pamungkas when he replaced Christian Gonzales came too late as he was only given 10 minutes to do anything, although he came close in one occasion.

Thirdly, Malaysia really had more vigor and energy than Indonesia. They seemed to be more organized and more composed than Indonesia, who misplaced too many passes for comfort, especially in the last 15 minutes in which Malaysia could have easily added a fourth no thanks to a schoolboy blunder by Indonesia’s defense. Even the Indonesian commentators in the match conceded that Malaysia were “really confident and comfortable” especially how they traversed past three or four hapless Indonesian players at one given time, and how their defence kept guard against the threats of Christian Gonzales and consigning the dynamic and explosive Irfan Bachdim to just futilely chasing throw-in bound balls which caused him to hit the turf once, to the screams of agony from girls around where yours truly was.

Another cause for Indonesia’s sudden lethargy is perhaps sheer complacency. A family member of mine suggested that Indonesia might have been tired due to the exertions against the amazing and high-flying Philippines team. But Malaysia have also just defeated the solid Viet Nam in their own semi-final clash. Therefore, a more accurate reason is perhaps complacency due to the general trailblazing performance of Indonesia in this competition, but it might also because of “Argentina sickness” usually observed happening to the Argentine national team in the World Cup especially in this decade in which the team performs extremely well beyond any expectations during the initial stages of the competition, only to bow out unceremoniously when it matters.

All in all, Indonesia still have 90 minutes to turn things around in their own cauldron of a stadium, the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, and they will now need the whole nation to really be behind them when they attempt to overturn the 3-0 deficit and win by at least 4 goals in the return leg in Jakarta. A defeat against Malaysia will be devastating and embarrassing as Malaysia will be hoisting the AFF trophy high in the Indonesian capital, no less! To re-emphasize the point, the match on the 29th of December will be a do-or-die match for Indonesia as the stakes are as high as it could be. However, football being football, even if Indonesia is to suffer the indignity of being defeated by Malaysia on home soil, one positive that Indonesia could take from this competition is of course the relieving fact that once again, football prevails as a tool to unite a nation as one. Personally, this is the very first time yours truly could observe that almost every Indonesian, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, sing in unison as one to support and set aside the aforementioned disparities and differences to really discuss about the national team as fans. It is incredible how football is able to unite a country and this furthers the calls for football to continue to be utilized as a potent tool to promote world peace.

90 more minutes of excitement, drama, and heart-stopping moments is in store for all of us, especially residents of Indonesia and Malaysia. This will not be an ordinary football match, this will be a showdown to be remembered and to be etched forever in the footballing folklore whether it is the Garuda Merah Putih (Red and White Garuda) soaring to glory against all odds or the Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tiger) roaring on to victory. See you in Jakarta!