NewFootball
More and more football players from the Netherlands are choosing for the Indonesian national team. At the beginning of the last century it was exactly the other way around, with sometimes a majority of Orange internationals from the Dutch East Indies.
The Dutch players in 1912 before the match against Germany. From left to right linesman Van den Berg, Dirk Lotsy, unknown reserve, official Hirschman, Bok de Korver, Mannes Francken, Jur Haak, David Wijnveldt, Nico Bouvy, Just Göbel, Leo Bosschart (behind Göbel and Vos), Jan Vos, Jan van Breda Kolff and Piet Bouman. Seven internationals were born in the Dutch East Indies. Photo via the National Archives
The Dutch women’s team plays a practice match against Indonesia. The visitors play Estella Loupatty and Noa Leatomu, who were both born in the Netherlands. The Indonesian men’s team even has nine football players.
More than a century ago it was exactly the other way around, because at that time more than half of the Dutch national team consisted of players who were born in the Dutch East Indies. Migration in national selections is an old theme that goes back a long way.
Three international matches
For example, before the outbreak of the First World War, the Dutch national team played three matches with seven players with the Dutch East Indies as their country of birth – more than sixty percent of the entire selection. Politically, it was of course an indivisible part of the Dutch kingdom at the time, but geographically the colony was not located in the Netherlands itself.
At the request of Sports History, Rob Regeer of Voetbalstats looked in 2018 at the birthplace of all Dutch internationals since 1905. This mainly concerned players who were born in the Dutch East Indies. Regeer found three international matches for the Dutch team with seven players from the Dutch East Indies.
On April 12, 1909, the Netherlands lost 0-4 to England at home. These internationals were born in the Dutch East Indies:
The same thing happened on November 17, 1912 during Germany – Netherlands:
Finally, on March 9, 1913, during Belgium – Netherlands, seven internationals were from Indian soil:
In these three games, the Dutch team only had four players who were born in the Netherlands – a large minority. Just like the Indonesian men’s team of today, but reversed.
