Jakarta (MidLand) – Belgian player with Indonesian roots, Radja Nainggolan, has admitted that he would probably choose to play for the Indonesian national team and become an Indonesian citizen (WNI), if approached from a young age.
The midfielder, who has spent most of his career in Italy, has played for the Belgian national team in various age groups, and has made 30 appearances for the Belgian senior team.
“In the past, the Indonesian football organization that I talked about 18 years ago, when I first played for Belgium, Indonesia was not yet at the point where it is today,” Radja said when met at Mandiri Club, Jakarta, Wednesday (8/11).
“If you go back to that time with the organization as it is today, maybe things can change, and now they are on a positive path,” he added.
Being a Belgian player, Radja said he knows quite a bit about the two naturalized players, Sandy Walsh and Jordi Amat.
“I know the two players I played against. Sandy Walsh is a good friend of mine, we were close when he was in Belgium. I once played against Jordi Amat, a central defender, he also played in Belgium,” Radja said.
Read also: PSSI invites Radja and Sabrina to promote the Under 17 World Cup
Sandy, born in Belgium, currently plays for his home country club, KV Mechelen. Meanwhile, before moving to the Malaysian League in 2022 to defend Johor Darul Ta’zim, Jordi played for Belgian club Eupen.
Seeing the potential of players of Indonesian blood who have careers abroad, especially in Europe, Radja also believes that the Indonesian national team will become very strong if he can recruit them.
“Actually, I once talked to Sabrina (Dressler, player of the Indonesian women’s national team with German blood) if all the players with Indonesian blood were brought and played for this country, they would have a very good team,” the former said . Inter and Roma player.
Radja is in Indonesia to serve as an ambassador for the Under-17 World Cup, which will take place from November 10 to December 2.
Read also: Naturalization of candidates for three new defenders of the Indonesian national team is still ongoing
Read also: Radja Nainggolan is realistic about the opportunities for the Indonesian national team
Reporter: A Rauf Andar Adipati
Publisher: Teguh Handoko
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