Indonesian soccer fans pledge allegiance to their favorite teams at the World Cup for various reasons. But only those in Maluku, the country’s northernmost islands, claim to have an emotional link with the Dutch team.
It’s been Orange Fever from the start of the 2010 World Cup in Ambon. The city has turned orange, with Dutch flags fluttering on every corner. Residents are strong supporters of Dutch coach Lambertus van Marwijk’s side.
When the Netherlands beat Denmark 2-0 in a Group E match, jubilation broke out with hundreds of soccer fans promptly parading around the city in cars and motorcycles.
They sported Dutch paraphernalia and flags, setting off fireworks to light up the night.
Ronny Samloy, a local soccer fan, said the huge number of fans of the Dutch soccer team in Ambon was attributable to the fact that three players in the Dutch team — captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst, John Heitinga and Demy de Zeeuw — are of Maluku descent.
“This may have led many Ambon residents to become fans of the Orange Team,” Samloy, a sports editor at a local daily, said.
He added that the people of Maluku were emotionally close to the Netherlands as the Dutch once colonized Indonesia for 350 years.
During the period, many Maluku people worked for the colonial administration and some became soldiers under the Dutch. The emotional ties intensified following the exodus of more than 12,000 Maluku residents to the Netherlands at the end of the 1940s due to political issues.
Giovanni’s father, for example, is a Eurasian, while his mother, Manuela Sapulette, is said to hail from Ulath village, Saparua district, in Central Maluku regency. She was among those who moved to the Netherlands.
“This is also a factor that has made many Ambon residents, and even the people of Maluku in general, feel closer to the Netherlands,” he added.
Samloy said many Dutch citizens of Maluku origin in the Netherlands were active in the fields of music and sports, especially soccer, as many Dutch people of Maluku descent played in soccer clubs from the first to third division.
He added that Ajax soccer club legend and former Dutch soccer team member Simon Tamata came from Ambon. Samloy said the coach and the entire squad of Dutch third-division club SV Jong Ambon were Dutch citizens of Maluku descent.
Vox Populi Institute director Almudatsir Sangadji sees the fanatical support for the Dutch team as an emotional tie not only with some squad members but also with people of Maluku descent living in the Netherlands.
He said there were more than 70,000 Dutch citizens of Maluku descent living in the Netherlands.
“The first generation of Maluku residents emigrated en masse to the Netherlands at the end of the 1940s. Now the third generation of Maluku people living in the country stands at more than 70,000,” he said.
Sangadji, however, said the show of support for the Dutch team tended to be excessive, with giant Dutch flags on display in a number of areas in Ambon.
“They probably won’t hoist the Indonesian flag on Aug. 17 [Indonesia’s Independence Day], but if the Dutch team plays in the World Cup and wins, even if it’s in the first round, the streets would be filled with jubilant people.
“A number of areas would also be filled with the Dutch flags. This phenomenon has occurred for a long time and is not unique to the current World Cup,” he said.
Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder (2nd L) celebrates with teammate Robin Van Persie (1st L) during their 2010 World Cup Group E soccer match against Japan at Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban, South Africa, on June 19, 2010. (Xinhua/Liao Yujie)
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