SPORTS - Belgian Project CS VISE Adds U-23 Star

thejakartaglobe.com - Slowly but surely, Indonesia is building a football pipeline into Europe.

Syamsir Alam is the latest Indonesian youngster to go abroad, with Belgian second-division club CS Vise announcing on its Web site on Monday that he was its first signing of the winter transfer window.  (source)

The 19-year-old is the fourth Indonesian to join the club since it was bought by the Bakrie family in April, with Alfin Tuasalamony, Yandi Munawar and Yericho Christiantoko already on the roster. All four players were part of the Indonesian Football Association’s (PSSI) “Uruguay Project” youth development scheme.

Syamsir is the fifth Indonesian to move to Europe since April. Spanish club Espanyol signed 18-year-old midfielder Arthur Irawan in November.

Vise said on its Web site that Syamsir would be presented when the club’s training resumed at the end of this month. The forward confirmed the news, saying he agreed to terms with Vise two weeks ago.

“It’s true. The club just announced it on Twitter. I haven’t officially signed, but I will depart for Belgium on December 30 to sign the contract,” Syamsir told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

He said the move was a great opportunity to showcase his talent and possibly secure a move to a bigger league, but he also said he did not want to be overwhelmed by the occasion.

Syamsir, a native of West Sumatra, started showing his ability at an early age, helping Makassar FC qualify for the Under-11 Danone Nations Cup finals in France in 2003.

He was recruited by Pelita Jaya’s junior club, and in 2006 it sent him to the Netherlands to train with top clubs Heerenveen and Vitesse Arnhem. He was also called up to the U-15 national team that year.

In 2007, he was selected to take part in the PSSI’s plan to send young players to take part in Uruguay’s youth competition as part of a team called Sociedad Anonima Deportiva Indonesia. He scored 15 goals during two seasons in the U-17 Quinta Division and attracted the attention of Penarol, one of the giants of Uruguayan football.

Syamsir signed a one-year contract with Penarol and scored six goals in the country’s U-19 competition. He also moved up the ranks of the national team, scoring four goals in four games after being called up to the U-19 team.

Rahmad Darmawan, coach of Indonesia’s U-23 team for the Southeast Asian Games, called up Syamsir but did not include him in the final squad. It was not for lack of talent, the coach said at the time, but because the striker was only with the squad for a week before the team had to make its final cuts.

Asked why he chose a second-tier Belgian side instead of trying to break into Penarol’s first team, Syamsir said the chance to play in Europe was too good to pass up.

“I played in the Penarol U-23 team and many of my teammates were looking for an opportunity to join any second division in Europe, including Belgium. They were looking for a stepping stone,” he said. “I wouldn’t extend my contract with Penarol anyway. I’ve been playing in Uruguay for four years and got kind of bored. I need new challenges.”

Vise director of sport Beppe Accardi said in a statement that the club believed in Syamsir’s future potential.

The first Indonesian to play for a European club was striker Kurniawan Dwi Julianto, who spent one season with Swiss side FC Lucerne in the early 1990s. Kurniawan was part of the PSSI’s primavera project, which sent a team of U-21 players to compete in Italy’s youth league.

.Source : http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/sports/belgian-project-adds-u-23-star/483110  - Dec 6, 2011