Labbola’s Indonesian National Team Selections for 2015

Year 2015 has passed. It was not a very good year for Indonesian football, with FIFA suspension and all. Politics controlled the sport and many people must pay the price: the federation, the clubs, the sponsors, the supporters, as well as the players. With the ban in effect, Indonesian national team lost their rights to compete in international levels, including the World Cup and Asian Cup of Nations qualifiers.

However, the football-crazed nation chose not to suffer under the storming cloud, but rather to have fun with it, just like little kids playing in the rain. Several tournaments were held to keep the footballing spirit on the roll.

One would wonder, over the course of 2015, if there’s no sanction and the Indonesian national team is able to play, who would wear the great red jersey with Garuda’s crest in its chest?

We’d like to share our version of it. Here’s who and why:

GK Dimas Galih Pratama
The 23-year-old played for PSM in Piala Presiden and Jenderal Sudirman Cup. In both tournaments, Galih performed really well, especially in the latter. Albeit he couldn’t make it through from the group stages, without him, PSM would’ve conceded many goals. His save success rate was up to 88% with total 35 saves in his last 7 matches. With Kurnia Meiga was nowhere to find and I Made Wirawan’s inconsistency, Galih deserved the spot between the posts.

RB Wildansyah
Spent 2015 with Sriwijaya FC, he won Benny Dollo’s trust as right full back. He intelligently balanced offense and defense with confidence and endurance. Scored 2 goals in Piala Presiden and earned the spot on Labbola’s Best XI of the tournament. In average, he made 2.7 successful tackles and 3.4 pass interceptions in 2015.

CB Manahati Lestusen
Quite busy in 2015 with Indonesia U-23 team in SEA Games, 2 clubs, and with the army. Took a break during Piala Presiden, he returned as first-choice center half of army-based team PS TNI. In every competitions he was involved in in 2015, Manahati nearly played the whole 90 minutes of each matches. His primary attribute is his versatility, the ability to play in more than 2 roles or positions. Averagely, he made 2.5 successful tackles and 3.7 pass interceptions per match in 2015. He possesses the requirements to be the future leader of Indonesian national team.

CB Achmad Jufriyanto
Started 2015 quite nicely with Persib and their first time playing in international level: The AFC Cup. Their journey had to end early in Round of 16, but Persib struck back in home soil by winning the President Cup. Playing in Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jupe scored the opener to secure Persib’s 2nd title in the period of 1 year with 2-0 win over Sriwijaya FC. Unfortunately, the departure of Vladimir Vujovic significantly influenced Jufriyanto’s performance. Setting up a new defense partnership with little preparation couldn’t bring Persib further from the group stage of Jenderal Sudirman Cup.

LB Johan Alfarizie
Arema was one of the busiest club in 2015 with friendly invitations and tournament agendas. Players came and went throughout the year, but Arema’s left back position belonged to Alfarizie. Statistically speaking, Alfarizie made 2.8 successful tackles per match and 80% passing accuracy. Practically, his only rival for the position is Rizky Pora, but surely Alfarizie was more consistent.

CMF Raphael Maitimo
The Dutch-born midfielder played for 3 different clubs in 2015: Sriwijaya FC, Persita, and Persija. In those 3 teams with 2 different coaches, he always got the central role. He performed economically as a midfielder with effective movements and timely decision-making skill. He had 75% success tackle rate in average and 81% passing accuracy.

CMF Rizky Pellu
Pellu’s decision to move to Mitra Kukar was quite a successful one. Playing in a bigger club boosted his motivation and responsibility to become a better, stronger and more skillful midfielder. He left his reckless style behind and now plays efficiently and with more intelligence. In 2015, his passing accuracy reached 90%, which is a very good number for a midfielder. Along with that, averagely, he only lost possession of the ball 2.3 times in every match he played.

AMF Fadil Sausu
Indra Sjafri put new role, position, and responsibility upon Fadil’s shoulder in Bali United, which successfully rejuvenated the player. Fadil became a passing machine with up to 82 successful passes per match and 88% accuracy. He adapted well with Sjafri’s playing system and comfortably play along. Indonesian national team surely needs this kind of player, who roamed the field with fast pass-and-move attributes. Nonetheless, one question surfaces: can other manager aside from Sjafrie brings out the best of Fadil?

RWF Andik Vermansyah
Playing abroad in the past 2 seasons has successfully changed Andik. Back then he was quite famous for being selfish and only relied on his pace. Wearing the red and yellow colours of Selangor, Andik has transformed into an effective player. He became more tactical and has better knowledge on when he should push the turbo button. Winning the Piala Malaysia could be the start of something big for the tiny winger from Jember. In that tournament, Andik made more crosses than any of his teammates with 2.17 successful crosses per match.

LWF Zulham Zamrun
He displayed a Ronaldo-esque playing style, along with the celebration, into Indonesian football. Very prolific and entertaining during Piala Presiden, which ended with him and Persib lifting the trophy. Sadly, he got injured playing in a low-level tournament, which ruled him out from Jenderal Sudirman Cup. Nevertheless, his fantastic performance in Piala Presiden earned him the spot.

CF Cristian Gonzáles
Old but gold. In his late-30s, El Loco kept on being a nightmare for his opponent’s back line. He still possesses very good ball control technique and scoring instinct. With Arema in 2015, Gonzales won the Inter Island Cup, Bali Island Cup, SCM Cup, and Sunrise of Java Cup. He surely doesn’t have much time left in his career. But in 2015, he still deserved the spot in Indonesian national team.

There you go, our 2015 selections for Indonesian national team. It’s still debatable, of course, but we have the numbers to argue. Feel free to share your version!