Jordi Amat, defender of the Indonesia national team of Johor Darul Ta’Zim, unveils with Sportbible the timeline to completing the process for a passport Indonesian and joined with Indonesia national team and joined with Johor Darul Ta’Zim.
He revealed as the national anthem of Indonesia echoes around the 78,000-capacity Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, the captain of Southeast Asia’s largest country looks over to see his grandmother in tears.
It is the afternoon of March 21, 2024, and Jordi Amat is watching from the stands ahead of a FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers round 2 against Vietnam.
He knows how much this moment means. “Even though I didn’t play because of injury, my grandma was crying,” Amat tells SPORTbible from his home in Johor. “She cries at every game because she is so happy. She still can’t believe that we are both here, in Indonesia.”
As the club, Jordi Amat has made a considerable impact at Liga Super Malaysia champions Johor Darul Ta’Zim.
That special relationship with Johor, who lifted the most recent league title with 25 wins from a possible 26, started when he was considering his future in Belgium.
When Amat was nearing the end of his contract at Belgian Pro League side K.A.S. Eupen in the summer of 2022, he sat down with his family and agent to discuss the future.
He can remember that moment like it was yesterday. “I said: ‘Let’s explore. We don’t need to keep playing in Europe. There are more options.’ Teams from Europe and Spain were interested but I was looking for a new experience after COVID.
“Eventually, after doing some research, this idea of playing for Indonesia cropped up and we decided to go ahead.”
“I was completing the process with my passport, and then, I don’t know how, but they got in touch,” he recalls. “I spoke to some agents around here, and they said Johor was the best option. I couldn’t say no. It’s an amazing club.”
“They play Champions League football, so the facilities are top-class. You feel like you’re in Europe. Our manager has a vision to change the football here. We’ve already won the league ten times in a row.”
“At the start it was quite difficult,” he admits. “But in the end, everyone was happy and I’m very proud to be here in Johor. I’m one of the captains of the team.”
Amat was officially welcomed as part of the Nusantara Sultanate Royal Council on 1 July 2022, being awarded the title of pangeran, which translates to ‘prince’ in English.
Credit Photo : HongZheng Lim/SNE-Phtoo
