Before the war, China and Indonesia were locked in a heated dispute over the issue of naturalization.

Before the war, China and Indonesia had a heated dispute over the issue of naturalization (image 1).

Ahead of the crucial match, Indonesia received much criticism from the Chinese media. Newspapers argued that while Indonesia's use of a squad largely composed of naturalized players might give them an advantage on the field, it could also stifle the motivation of domestic players, especially since the use of players from Europe lacked national identity and pride.

The criticism was so intense that the president of the Indonesian Football Federation, Erick Thohir, had to speak out. He alluded to the fact that the Chinese national team also uses many naturalized players, not just Indonesia. He even pointed out that players like Elkeson, Serginho, and Fernandinho, whom the Chinese Football Federation had previously called up, did not share any blood relation with the local players.

Mr. Thohir argued that this is what makes Indonesia different because they only naturalize players with Indonesian ancestry, inherited from their grandparents and parents. "Many other teams always want to undermine the prestige of the Indonesian national team. They also naturalize players, but their players don't even have Indonesian blood," he said.

Before the war, China and Indonesia had a heated dispute over the issue of naturalization (image 2).

Indonesian naturalized players are currently playing in Europe.

"As for us, we clearly only naturalize players who have our bloodline. That's something we should be proud of. If other teams talk about Indonesia, let them talk. They should be the ones to be ashamed. Why? They naturalize players who don't have their bloodline," Erick Thohir emphasized.

Not only Chinese media, but Bahrain also once mocked Indonesia's naturalization plan. Bahrain's coach Talajic once said: "Indonesia has a population of over 300 million but uses a team full of Dutch players."

In total, 23 Indonesian players have been naturalized over the past four years. This plan began with Jordi Amat, Sandy Walsh, and Shaye Pattynama, and the latest case is Ole Romeny, scheduled for early 2025.

Not only in the men's team, the Indonesian Football Federation has also begun actively naturalizing female players. Most recently, PSSI has authorized the government to grant citizenship to four players of Dutch origin to participate in the Southeast Asian Women's Championship this summer.

Dang Lai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/truoc-dai-chien-trung-quoc-va-indonesia-tranh-cai-gay-gat-ve-van-de-nhap-tich-post1747236.tpo