A Journalist's Journey Through Football Culture and Emotion
Nearly a decade in the game has given this journalist a rare vantage point: one foot in the press box, the other in the stands, heart still beating like a supporter’s.
The journey began at Indonesia’s legendary Tabloid BOLA, a newsroom that shaped generations of football readers. From 2017 until its final print in December 2018, the paper became both classroom and battleground. Deadlines, late-night edits, and the constant hum of the printing press forged a reporter who understood that football writing is as much about culture and emotion as it is about scorelines.
When BOLA’s final edition rolled off the presses, the story didn’t end. It simply changed stadiums. GOAL came next, opening a wider window to the global game. Freelance work with FIFA followed, adding a different layer of responsibility and reach, before a move into the media department of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) anchored this career firmly in the heart of Southeast Asian football. At the same time, the microphone became as familiar as the keyboard: live play-by-play commentary on Indonesian football since 2017, giving voice to the chaos and beauty unfolding on the pitch.
That blend of history and immediacy is no accident. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in History from Universitas Padjadjaran’s Faculty of Cultural Sciences in Bandung, this is a storyteller who reads football through context—geography, heritage, and the small obsessions that start in childhood and never quite fade.
Bandung did the rest. Nine years in the city turned Persib from just another club into something closer to a spiritual home. The twist? A father who once played for a traditional rival. The conflict only deepened the bond. The spark arrived in 2006, when Thai goalkeeper Kosin Hathairattanakool pulled on the Persib shirt and the terraces showed what the club truly meant to its people. From that point, it wasn’t just about tactics or transfers. It was about belonging. About watching how a city breathes through its team.
On the global stage, the first great infatuation wore black and blue. Ronaldo and Inter Milan defined those formative years: the explosive brilliance, the injuries, the heartbreak of seasons that promised so much and delivered just short of glory. That sense of almost—of what might have been—lingers in the way the game is seen and written about.
Bloodlines tug in another direction. Dutch roots in Rotterdam make Feyenoord the club of choice in the Netherlands, and the Oranje have never been far from the heart. The 2010 World Cup final sits there as a scar and a badge of honour at once. So does a 2013 friendly against Indonesia, watched live, and countless Oranje Indonesia gatherings that turned distant European football into a shared, local ritual. Arjen Robben and Giovanni van Bronckhorst stand as the ultimate icons—one a whirlwind cutting in from the flank, the other a leader who stitched defence and attack together with intelligence and steel.
The game’s influence seeped into unexpected corners too. Football Manager 2005 opened the door to Athletic Bilbao’s unique philosophy, planting a lasting admiration for a club that insists on doing things its own way. The idea that identity can be non-negotiable—on and off the pitch—has never really left.
The sporting map stretches beyond football. In basketball, loyalties split across eras and coasts: the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors, bound together by the gravity of Michael Jordan, the resilience of Derrick Rose, and the artistry of Stephen Curry. Different sport, same theme: greatness framed by narrative.
Professionally, the toolbox is broad and well used. Indonesian football and Liga 1 sit at the core, with data-driven insights and long-form features built on years of close observation. The lens widens across Southeast Asia and East Asia—Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Korea—where leagues and national teams are growing fast, each with its own rhythm and storyline. Writing is only one part of the craft. There’s digital and social media work: Instagram reels, podcasts, visual storytelling that captures moments in seconds rather than columns. Player profiling, live broadcasting, interviewing, and photography all fold into a single aim: to show the person behind the player, the culture behind the club.
Language helps bridge those gaps. Basic français and español add nuance to conversations, whether in mixed zones, training grounds, or cafés halfway across the world.
The favourite memories don’t come from press conferences in glittering arenas, but from the road. Backpacking and professional duty have merged into a single, ongoing assignment: tracking Indonesian players scattered across Southeast Asia and Europe. The routes have run through the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, and Japan—train rides, budget flights, unfamiliar streets—all to sit down with footballers chasing their careers far from home. Those interviews, built on trust and shared background, form a body of work that feels deeply personal. Each story carries a piece of Indonesia with it.
When it comes to an all-time XI, there’s no definitive answer, only non-negotiables and hard omissions. In goal, it starts with Manuel Neuer or Rogério Ceni, two keepers who redefined what their position could be. Javier Zanetti brings timeless consistency at the back, Sergio Ramos adds edge and leadership, while N'Golo Kanté and Toni Kroos lock down midfield with a blend of tireless work and metronomic control. Arjen Robben and Mo Salah stretch and shred defences from wide areas, Zlatan Ibrahimović stands up front as the totemic focal point. The creative heartbeat? Juan Román Riquelme or Michael Laudrup, artists who see passes others don’t even imagine.
Leaving out Lothar Matthäus, Zinedine Zidane, and Ronaldo feels almost criminal, but that’s the point: they appear in almost every list. This one leans into personal history instead of consensus.
In the end, it’s all part of the same story—a life mapped by clubs, players, stadiums, and journeys, stitched together by a simple, enduring obsession with the game.
