Thomas Doll in Jakarta – a life as a coach shaped by the state of emergency

Thomas Doll seems more relaxed than before, which may also be due to the external circumstances. “It’s no use getting upset because there’s no other way,” says the former Bundesliga coach, “with all the mopeds and stuff.” In Indonesia, where Doll was fighting for the title with the first division footballers of the capital club Persija Jakarta plays, the streets are often congested and the distances long. The 56-year-old needs up to an hour and a half to get from his apartment in the posh south of Jakarta to the club’s training grounds. This is everyday life. Doll’s time in Indonesia is characterized by the state of emergency. “So much has happened in the seven months since I’ve been here that others never experience in their entire lives,” says Persija’s coach.

The stadium tragedy after the duel between two league rivals, in which 135 people lost their lives last October, also left its mark on Doll. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong. And in the end there is the second worst tragedy that has ever happened in football,” he says: “Everyone was really shocked in Indonesia.” The next catastrophe followed in November, an earthquake that killed over 300 people. The December news: coal mine explosion, volcanic eruption, floods, bomb attack.

How should a coach prepare his team for football games when the state of emergency becomes part of everyday life? “Due to the fact that a lot of things often happen here, it might not be the way we would perceive it in Germany,” says Doll. “It’s the order of the day here that things shake from time to time. Life always goes on. It’s the same after plane crashes, it’s also the same after such tragedies.” On and on through a season in which Doll impresses with his eleven, which is his most extreme experience so far outside of sport – although he has also seen and experienced a lot in other countries has.

“It didn’t work anymore, the ball didn’t run, no chance”

Born in Mecklenburg, he was under contract as a player in Italy (Lazio Rom, AS Bari), as a coach in Turkey (Gençlerbirligi Ankara), Saudi Arabia (Al-Hilal), Hungary (Ferencváros Budapest) and Cyprus (Apoel Nicosia). And at Hannover 96, Hamburger SV or Borussia Dortmund there was often fire, Doll’s angry speech at BVB (“I’m laughing my ass off”) testifies to that.

So now Indonesia – and that’s a completely different (soccer) world. “The place was under water, we had to wait an hour and a half,” says Doll, for example, about the game against PSS Sleman the day before Christmas. It had rained like a monsoon, and the referee stopped the game at half-time. “I’ve never experienced anything like it,” says Doll, “it didn’t work anymore, the ball didn’t run, no chance.”

After all, the trainer made it back to Jakarta on time by charter plane, briefly to the apartment and then to the airport on time to fly from there to his family in Budapest via Doha. “I’m happy that it worked out – sometimes games are rescheduled at short notice.” Not this time. Doll was able to spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve at home with his wife and one-year-old daughter.

The coach has been back in Jakarta since January 2nd. Doll has long since banished the thought of turning his back on Indonesia – despite the dark shadow that hangs over the season. It was “very bad” for him, Doll reported on October 1, when mass panic broke out in the Kanjuruhan Stadium in the province of East Java after the game between Arema Malang and Persebaya Surabaya. Fans had stormed the field, the police used violence and tear gas against them. Thousands tried to reach the emergency exits, 135 did not survive. “And we should have played football that day – thank God that was cancelled,” remembers Doll, “the players were pretty upset too.”

Keep going? Not at first. Doll gave his team, which also includes ex-Rostocker Hanno Behrens, nine days off after the accident. Come down, switch off, sort your thoughts. The friendly games followed because the league took a two-month break after the stadium disaster. Operations only continued at the beginning of December, “from one moment to the next,” reports Doll – and with a tough program to make up for the canceled games.

By Christmas, Doll’s team had to do it six times – behind closed doors. This is also a result of the accident. “We haven’t had a game for two months, and then you suddenly play every three or four days – it really wasn’t easy.” Not for the head either. “The six games without fans, they were like friendlies, that’s not fun,” says Doll. Especially since the league accommodated all teams in one hotel to save time and distance. The games took place on neutral pitches all around. State of emergency.

Doll’s contract in Jakarta runs until 2025, and the coach wants to fulfill it. He feels good, raves about his club and the fans. “Persija Jakarta is not just any club, it is a traditional club with around ten million fans. It’s unbelievable.” Even after the game, people continue to sing for a long time, “these are moments of goosebumps”. And when the derby against Persib Bandung is coming up, “it’s like Werder Bremen against HSV”.

The prospects seem good, Persija is planning new training grounds and moving to the 82,000-seat International Stadium. “We would like to build something here,” says Doll. “Indonesia is not the Bundesliga or Spain now, but it is very interesting.” And anything but ordinary.