REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir said he was very proud to see Jay Idzes become the first Indonesian player to score in the Italian Serie A. Idzes made his name on the scoreboard when Venezia faced Juventus in Week 16 of Serie A on Sunday (15/12/2024).
Bang Jay scored with a header in the 83rd minute after capitalising on Hans Nicolussi Caviglia's free-kick pass. It was his fourth goal with Venezia. Previously, he contributed three goals for I Lagunari while still playing in Serie B in all competitions, last season.
“Back it was the first time an Indonesian player could score in Serie A, Jay Idzes. Indirectly, we are definitely proud of dong,” Erick said when he met the media crew after the PSSI Partner Summit 2024 event at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Jakarta on Monday.
Bang Jay's goal almost took Venezia to its third win of the season. With victory in sight, Juventus levelled the scores through Dusan Vlahovic's 90+5 minute penalty to make the final score 2-2.
According to Erick, Idze's goal was in addition to being an individual record for the 24-year-old. This moment also indirectly helped promote Indonesian football in the eyes of the world.
“Well, these are the achievements that we continue to carve out, not only as a team but also as individuals. We can see in the big leagues, they can be part of a global Indonesian football campaign,” Erick said.
The result is Juventus's record tenth series this season in Serie A, keeping Thiago Motta's side in sixth place with 28 points.
While this one-point notch also did not change Venezia's position as caretaker with 10 points, a result of two wins and four draws from 16 games. Bang Jay and friends will play the week 17 match of the Italian League against Cagliari on Sunday (22/12/2024) at 21.00 pm at home.