AFF Cup 2018: Indonesia - the "eagle" with broken wings.

Superficial preparation

This marks the fourth time in history that Indonesia has been eliminated from the group stage since the 1996 regional tournament. "The Indonesian national team has officially been eliminated from the AFF Cup with one match still to play. This is truly a disaster for Indonesian football," the Bola newspaper began.

General Edy Rahmayadi, president of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), is being blamed for the team's failure. (Image: Internet)

"Honestly, I can't accept the way our team was eliminated from this year's tournament. Indonesian football might not even be as good as Cambodia or Timor Leste," wrote an Instagram user named "aemph06". In reality, they only won against Timor Leste, and lost convincingly to Thailand and Singapore.

Clearly, PSSI's preparations for the 2018 AFF Cup were very superficial. An Indonesian fan commented: "Indonesia is the only country where the national league is still running while the national team is participating in the 2018 AFF Cup. The PSSI president should resign with this kind of work."

Perhaps only Indonesia employs this practice, and of course, clubs doing everything they can to retain their players is inevitable. It's not unfair that a fan named Raymaulvy bitterly stated: "The Indonesian national team no longer has quality, the Indonesian Football Federation is the worst in the world."

Two months prior, the national team was without a head coach because Luis Milla had disappeared and could not be contacted due to salary disputes. Assistant coach Bima Sakti was assigned to fill in as the opening day approached.

Having set their sights on the semi-finals of the 2018 AFF Cup, Indonesia has now been eliminated early after losses to Singapore and Thailand, and only managed one win against Timor Leste. It's difficult to blame coach Bima Sakti, as he lacked the time and skill to work miracles like Sven-Goran Eriksson of the Philippines national team.

"Everything has its price. Coach Luis Milla's demand for more money is understandable because he's more talented than Bima Sakti. This was evident in the three pre-tournament friendly matches. Clearly, the quality of the players hasn't changed, yet Sakti couldn't do what Milla did," commented a fan named Andika Kurnia on PSSI's Facebook page.

"Tragedy, disappointment..."

Ironically, when Edy Rahmayadi, President of the Indonesian Football Federation, took office, he painted a picture of the future: "The dream of Indonesia participating in the World Cup." Indonesian fans mocked him, saying, "Will FIFA be able to tolerate the reality that a team that can only beat the tiny team of Timor Leste will be present at the biggest football event on the planet?"

Indonesia has been officially eliminated from the AFF Cup with one match still to play. Photo: Internet

Not many Indonesian fans expected the "Eagles," with their haphazard preparation, to go far in the AFF Cup. But the current elimination scenario is too humiliating and disappointing, as Indonesia's football standing after this tournament is ranked among Laos, Cambodia, and Timor Leste, the lowest-ranked teams in Southeast Asia.

"Tragedy, disappointment, resignation"—these are probably the keywords that appear most frequently on social media and in Indonesian sports newspapers. The Indonesian Football Federation will certainly have to face a personnel overhaul and a change in its approach to football in the near future.

But perhaps coach Bima Sakti and the Indonesian national team need to aim for a victory in their match against the Philippines on November 25th to appease public opinion and leave the 2018 AFF Cup with their heads held high.