FAN’S VIEW: 2025/26 – No.1: INDONESIA ALL STARS

For many years now whenever each season ends, I question whether I’ll carry on writing FVs for the following campaign. That’s mostly down to how much time it takes. I’ve always, up until now, come back somewhat refreshed and gone for it again. However last season I got later and later after a match in publishing my musings on the game, the pubs, and the general crack.

This time around I was contemplating not doing one for every game, possibly grouping a couple of matches together or even just putting something out once a month.

Then I got an offer of help. I’ll call them the secret contributor until it actually happens. Can’t see any reason why it won’t though. Hopefully there will be a 50/50 split.

I’d written the above and was going to put it out with some other musings when along came another contributor with a one off from Indonesia. Can’t delay that.

Oxford United vs Indonesia All Stars by Mark Gelder

Pre-season used to consist of players returning to training and runs up and down Shotover Hill. Then came bleep tests, and boot camps with the Royal Marines to boost team bonding. 

In the Summer of 2010, Chris Wilder and Mickey Lewis drove up to Scotland in two minibuses for time away as a squad with games against Dumbarton and Livingston.   A few hundred fans travelled up for their chance to see Oxford play an “international” away game.   For the next two seasons, Kelvin Thomas’s connections saw a handful of fans travel to Boston and New England to play Seacoast United and Mass United.   We went back to Scotland the next season  to Alloa and Berwick.

The game-changer was Wiener Neustadt away in Austria in 2015.  This was a well announced one-off match culminating in fans meeting in the town square after the game and onto the local “Clumsies” bar, where Michael Appleton and the players joined us.  After this, pre-seasons weren’t to be missed, with trips to Spain, Portugal and Ireland, and a one-off game at Rangers.  Depending on the mood of the club, some seasons it was decided to have training camps abroad and behind closed doors fixtures, so no fan involvement.

Onto 2025 and the club is now majority owned by a consortium led by two Indonesians, Anindya Bakrie and Erick Thohir.   Thohir is Chairman of the Indonesian Football Association and Minister of State-owned Enterprises.  Indonesia are currently in the fourth round of the World Cup play-offs.  The Indonesian President’s cup was first introduced as a summer tournament whilst Indonesia were suspended from international football, and has now become an annual cup.  This summer, to enhance the exposure of Indonesian football, the format was changed to two overseas clubs with Indonesian players, one of which being Oxford United with Indonesia international Ferdinan Marselino who has been with the club all season, and January signing Olé Romeny who was naturalised as Indonesian through his grandmother in February.  

The other clubs are Thai team Port FC, and the winners and runners up of the Indonesian league and last year’s Cup champions.

Anyway, cutting to the point.   The participants, match-dates and locations were finally announced mid-June.   This doesn’t give much time to book time off if available and then arrange flights and accommodation. 

So Friday I was on a flight to Jakarta International via Hong Kong.  The players had already flown out business class a few days before.   Some 17 or 18 hours later I landed and was hit by the 30c heat.  A different type to the UK where you can just find a spot in the shade.  

The cab from the airport to the hotel was like the old game Crazy Taxi with cars and mopeds all switching lanes and using the narrow hard shoulder all to get an edge on their way.  

I had booked a couple of nights along with a few others at a hotel right next to the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) stadium.   This is the national football stadium, originally built in 1962 with a capacity of 110,000, a  record attendance of 150,000, and now converted to all-seater with a capacity of 88,000.

I had a quick explore 200 yards to the nearby shopping mall to pick up toothpaste.  Just like the expressway from the airport, traffic was chaotic with scooters zooming everywhere and zebra crossings seem to have been painted on the road for effect rather than any actual meaning.  On the footpaths were hawkers selling snacks, cigarettes, coffee.   To get into the mall you had to go through a security arch and past a guard.   I was quite possibly the only European in  the whole mall, but all the staff were really helpful and if they didn’t have what you were asking for they would find someone who did.  

Saturday evening I went down to the hotel bar to find another four Oxford fans, and later we were up to eight as various flights and transfers arrived.  We spent the evening working out who had seen Oxford in most countries outside of England, and then onto games abroad and England games at different venues in the UK.

Sunday was game day.  Another trip to the mall to buy some insect-bite cream.  Half of the street had been closed off for a whole row of different food hawkers but I didn’t fancy risking it.   Outside the mall a stage had been set up for a young Indonesian male pop singer and there was a decent crowd of fans watching.

Around lunch-time I went for a walk around the stadium to see what was going on.   All the perimeter gates were shut, but hundreds of families and children were gathered in the nearby park.  Apparently there was a free music-festival at the GBK in the afternoon, and maybe I heard a soundcheck for the evening too.

Back at the hotel a few hours before kick-off we were now up to around 10 or 12 fans.   A few of us had replica shirts / OUFC branded tops.  The rain was lashing down and I couldn’t see the match being on.   Cue discussion on abandoned matches due to weather (Gateshead FA Cup, Poland -England).   However rain and thunderstorms in Jakarta seem to appear afternoon to dusk and then disappear.   By 6:30 it had stopped and we made our way to the ground.   A lot of the shops I went in were card only, or QR code scan only.  Similarly the match tickets were bought on-line and then scanned with no cash on the gate.   Only £3 as well!   Lots of food and snack stalls on the outer perimeter, but no programmes or merch, and no alcohol either.

Our group went up to the top tier of the East stand opposite the dug-outs, and those with flags tied them over the railings and we gathered in the front row of that tier and a few others joined us. 

Pre-match we had an Indonesian lady singer entertain us for a couple of songs.   Hundreds of kids were set out in groups of either red or white kits on the running track.  We got to 7:15 with just 15 minutes to go until kick-off.   The Indonesian stadium announcer ran through the teams in both languages, but seemed to have learned his English presentation style from watching American Sports, with a rising intonation calling out each player name in full with all middle names.   Huge cheers from the Indonesian fans for Romeny and Marselino.

A long introductory speech was then made with the speaker having several pages of notes.   Eventually we got to the actual match build-up.   Fireworks and light shows, mobile phone flashlights, the kids all doing keepy-uppies on the running track, more kids holding club banners on the pitch, the unveiling of the Cup trophy.   The Indonesian national anthem was sung in full, and as they had omitted ours, we sang the traditional two verses of God Save The King, and got applause from fans near us.

As for the game, we were well ahead from the start, and I think playing more of an exhibition game than a pre-season.   We let off shots and attacks which, if in league football, would have been more measured.  In defence we perhaps were more minded not to get yellow cards or more importantly any injuries.  

Towards the end of the first half a group of about six or seven youths come down to try and “take our flag” like the European ultras scene, but were shown on their way back up the stairs.  

The match finished with a couple of late goals for Indonesia All Stars to make it 6-3, which helped the score line appear more respectable.  

The total crowd was 41,026, and a real mix of kids, mums and dads.  We saw a few locals with Oxford Romeny/Marselino shirts, some apparently had been studying at Oxford.  At half-time and then at full time it took perhaps half an hour extra to get out with Indonesian fans wanting to take pictures with the Oxford and England flags and fans.  

On the way out there was another pop-concert going on at a venue within the GBK zone.  An enjoyable evening all-in-all.