TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Bleary-eyed Indonesians return to work after ‘crazy’ World Cup final
Change Size
Argentina supporters watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar soccer final between Argentina and France, in Ternate, Maluku, on Dec. 18. (AFP/Risqulla)
Indonesians across the country came together and witnessed one of the most exciting World Cup finals in history on Sunday night.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar reached its climax on Sunday night with a final game full of surprises between Argentina and France, the former winning by a penalty shootout after a tense 120 minutes.
Many Indonesians, with their penchant for making up new abbreviations, went out late at night for a “nobar” event, short for nonton bareng (public viewing), to see the game.
“This is perhaps the best World Cup I’ve ever seen, it was crazy,” 26-year-old Prihatur Setyo Putra, a Bandung-based copywriter, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
“Last night’s final felt like a climax after the many dramas we’ve had since the group stage,” he said.
Prihatur held a nobar at his coffee shop A Place in Between in Lengkong, Bandung, which many attended.
“It was so crowded. People were running around and the adrenaline was so high that some took off their shirts,” he shared.
Twenty-three-year-old user interface/user experience (UI/UX) designer Grahana Daffa also joined a nobar in his neighborhood in South Tangerang, Banten. But due to work demands, he left the place earlier.
“I left early because it’s so crowded and I have to work the next morning,” he said.
Despite working from home, Grahana had a mandatory meeting at 9 a.m., so he had to wake up early in the morning.
“It was tiring, but considering that I watched it at my housing complex and the game ended at 2 a.m., I didn’t feel that tired,” he said. “Maybe if it had started at 1 a.m. and ended at 4 [a.m.], I wouldn’t have been able to go to work today.”
Oddie, 23, a mining engineer residing in Tangerang, also experienced the same thing. The nobar venue he attended in Karawaci, Tangerang, became more crowded by local residents by the hour, he said.
“It was so packed but so much fun,” Oddie said.
Nevertheless, they all said watching the match until past midnight and losing a bit of sleep was worth it.
“It was tiring because the match ended at around 1:30 a.m. and I had to work early next morning, but with that big of a final game it’s so worth your time,” Oddie said. “The drama was there and both Argentina and France played all out to give an enjoyable experience for everyone worldwide.”
Grahana agreed with the sentiment. “You’ll feel like missing out if you didn’t watch it,” he said.
Even as a neutral fan who did not pick sides, Prihatur said others would have missed out on the experience if they did not watch it. Regardless of work the next day, it was the match to see.
“It’s still a hot topic at my office today,” he said, justifying the hype.
Despite the country’s football-crazed fans, Indonesia has yet to qualify for the World Cup since 1938 when it played under the name the Dutch East Indies, reaching the finals round. It currently ranks at number 152 with FIFA.
Indonesia will host the FIFA U-20 World Cup next year as planned, despite the recent Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy that took 132 lives. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and FIFA president Gianni Infantino have joined forces to reform the country’s soccer stadiums and the fans’ behavior.
