LALIGA Special Coverage: Darrel Ang and the Intersection of Indonesian Football with the Spanish League

As one of the elite football leagues in Europe, many of the world's top footballers now play in LALIGA Spain. Of the approximately 500 footballers competing in LALIGA this season, 206 of them are foreign players. Indonesia has also made its mark by sending footballers to compete in LALIGA.

Despite being elite, LALIGA is not an unattainable competition for Asian footballers, including those from Indonesia. Several Asian footballers are currently active in LALIGA, including Takefusa Kubo at Real Sociedad and Kim Min-su who plays for Girona B. Before them, there was Lee Kang-in who played for Valencia and Real Mallorca.

The presence of Kubo and Kang-in in LALIGA is quite natural considering they come from the football powerhouses of Asia, Japan and South Korea. However, LALIGA does not only open its doors to players from strong Asian countries. Countries from Southeast Asia, which are relatively at a lower level than Japan and South Korea, have also sent players to LALIGA.

Long before Kubo and Kang-in, the megastar from Thailand, Teerasil Dangda, also experienced the intense competition of LALIGA in 2014-2015. At that time, he was loaned from the Thai club, Muangthong United, to UD Almeria for half a season. With Almeria, Dangda appeared in 10 matches and scored one goal in the Copa del Rey.

Thailand is not the only Southeast Asian country that has sent its representatives to Spain. Indonesian footballers have also been recorded to have tried their luck in the "Matador" country, one of whom is Arthur Irawan, who was part of the Espanyol B team in 2013. The Espanyol B team is one level below the main Espanyol team. Arthur, who has since retired, is noted to have made eight appearances with Espanyol B without scoring any goals or providing assists.

In Spain, I feel, we are more directed to improve the tactical aspect.

The Indonesian national team defender, Jordi Amat, has a much more extensive experience in LALIGA. Jordi, who currently plays for the Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta’zim, has had a notable career strengthening various LALIGA clubs. He began his career by representing Espanyol U-19, then progressed to the Espanyol B team, before ultimately being promoted to the first team.

After leaving Espanyol, Jordi continued his career at Rayo Vallecano, then played in the English League with Swansea, and eventually returned to Spain to strengthen Real Betis in 2017. Jordi's stint with Betis was relatively brief, lasting only half a season. The short duration of his time at Betis led Real Betis' Technical Secretary Alvaro Ladron to momentarily forget Jordi's name when asked to mention the name of the Indonesian player who had once played for Betis.

“Ah, right. After you said it, I just remembered. Jordi Amat used to play for us (Betis),” said Alvaro during an interview session with Kompas in Spain facilitated by LALIGA.

Jordi and Arthur are stories of the past. In the current era, there is a new gem from Indonesia who is learning alongside the Sevilla D team, namely Darrell Nathan Ang, a footballer born in Jakarta 21 years ago.

Darrell began his football career abroad with the German club, Pforzheim U-17. After leaving Pforzheim U-17, Darrell moved between various German clubs such as VfL Kurpfalz, Friedrichstal, and SV Pforzheim. In 2024, Darrell decided to expand his horizons to Spain.

"I see Sevilla providing a greater opportunity to advance my career," said Darrell when asked about his reasons for joining Sevilla D, Monday (19/5/2025).

In the midst of the scorching afternoon at Sevilla's training center, the Jose Ramon Cisneros Palacios Complex, Darrell had just completed a fitness training session. His facial expression changed to one of great joy upon meeting me, a fellow Indonesian. Darrell acknowledged that the language barrier was quite a challenge to overcome when he first arrived in Spain. However, he has recently begun to speak Spanish fluently.

Darrell is quite fluent in Indonesian, despite having lived abroad for a considerable time. Occasionally, he uses English during interview sessions. According to Darrell, the football cultures of Germany and Spain are also quite different, which requires him to make extra efforts to adapt.

"In Germany, the game emphasizes physicality a bit more. Meanwhile, in Spain, as I have experienced, we are more directed towards enhancing tactical aspects," said Darrell.

Spanish footballers are required to play intelligently. Before receiving the ball, players must already know what action they will take in a fraction of a second. This aligns with the statement from the Head of International Sports Project at Sevilla, Jose Collado. According to him, Sevilla is looking for different players. This means players with a high level of intelligence and tactics to be recruited into the academy.

"A player who can control the situation on the field. Quality players who play on the right and left sides. They possess good passing, good shooting, and good dribbling skills. These different types of players are what we are looking for," said Jose.

Darrell's presence in Sevilla D proves that he possesses the necessary qualities. Furthermore, his presence also signals that other Indonesian footballers could very well break into Spain. There are no limitations or barriers. As long as they have quality, players from any part of the continent will always find a place in LALIGA.

LALIGA President Javier Tebas stated that Indonesian footballers are known for their good technique, but they still require more experience playing in top-level competitions.

"You know, they really need to know how to compete. They have to play against very good defenders. They (must) have different tactics," said Tebas when asked about the potential of Indonesian footballers playing in LALIGA.