Uruguay 7 - Indonesia Disgraced

Indonesia (ranked 131st by FIFA) played a friendly soccer match against Uruguay last week in Jakarta. So the monster nation of 240 million people played the heavily favorite nation of 3.5 million. Indonesians are very much promoting the sport and follow the English premiership by default...and quite fanatically. In fact, I am a current member of 'Indonesia United,' the official Man U club of Jakarta - currently 5,000 plus members (see picture of last event). Not that I'm a Man U fan, but figure it's interesting to find soccer fans anywhere and watch games with people who care about the result.

And quite quickly, Indonesia has taken up soccer as their national sport, which has replaced badminton. In fact, the president and first lady attended the friendly game and went on the pitch to shake hands with all the players before the match. Many locals were upset that Forlan didn't make the match, but still Indonesia was happy to extend a warm welcome to a team that finished fourth in the last World Cup.

Many fans saw this game as a rematch of the 1974 friendly between the two countries when Indonesia defeated Uruguay 2 - 1. Indonesians had quickly thought it possible again when Boaz Solossa from West Papua (the East Bubblefuck of Indonesia) scored the first goal in the 18th minute. The Indonesian high was short-lived with a couple of Uruguayan goals to end the first half, but hope (or at least self-respect) was still very much in the nation's grasp. And the second half, Uruguay decided to give Indonesia a meat platter of not one but two hat tricks by Suarez and Cavani.

Indonesian fans tuned out pretty quickly as the soccer culture here is quite new, but most are saying that the first half was brilliant and the second half was due to lack of player fitness. The national coach is already under pressure as it was huge disappointment for this young soccer nation.