For a long time Indonesia has been a top destination in south-east Asia for stars hunting a final payday. However, many of the moves do not end well
Indonesia
Chinese clubs have been making headlines with their big-money imports but the Indonesian league too has now become a favourite destination of players previously with European clubs. In the 1990s, Mario Kempes and Roger Milla joined clubs there as did Lee Hendrie and Marcus Bent at the start of this decade but there has never been an influx like 2017.
Just before the start of the season five ex-Premier League stars arrived. Carlton Cole teamed up with Michael Essien at Persib Bandung while there was Didier Zokora at Semen Padang, Peter Odemwingie at Madura United and Mohamed Sissoko with Mitra Kukar. It all led to some excitement, especially as this was Indonesia’s first official league season in three years, FIFA having imposed an international suspension in May 2015, due to political interference – a ban that ended up lasting for a year.
This story is from the October 2017 edition of When Saturday Comes.
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This story is from the October 2017 edition of When Saturday Comes.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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