Fil-Indonesian Gabe Honosutomo has Azkals dreams

This article appears in the Monday December 20, 2010 edition of the Business Mirror.

Fil-Indonesian Gabe Honosutomo has Azkals dreams

by rick olivares

JAKARTA, INDONESIA -- Gabriel Reuben “Gabe” Honosutomo thought they were all hype. The Philippine National Men’s Football Team that is. Growing up in football-mad Indonesia where the country was one of the top Asean sides, it was the closest thing to heaven for him. He represented Indonesia in the U-16 team twice as the first-string goalkeeper. They took a bronze medal in the Southeast Asia Youth Soccer last Feb 2010 at the Kallang Stadium in Singapore and the gold in the ANZA Soccer International Junior Cup last May once more in the Lion City.

Because of Gabe’s contributions to his team’s success, he’s been invited to the train with the youth academies of Liverpool and Arsenal where there are chapters in Indonesia as part of their drive to discover talent in Asia.

Yet after watching the Philippine team play Indonesia in the first match of a “home” and away series where the former lost 1-nil, Gabe felt a tug in his heart to play for the Azkals. You see, Honosutomo is half Filipino. “I didn’t actually root for anyone. Maybe that’s because of my mom (who is the Filipino side of him). But I felt inspired by the way the Philippine team played,” said Gabe who at 16 years old stands 5’11” and is clearly still growing. “They were organized, disciplined, and played with a passion that really appealed to me.”

Honosutomo was particularly inspired by the superb goalkeeping by the Philippines’ Neil Etheridge and the toughness of team captain Aly Borromeo. “Neil was just fantastic. It’s nice to know that he plays for Fulham in the English Premier League,” said the youngster who lists Liverpool and Barcelona as his two favorite clubs and their respective goalkeepers Pepe Reina and Victor Valdes as his sporting idols. “Aly was a rock on defense. He time and again stopped Indonesia’s attacks.”

Is there a football career for Gabe? There is. But his parents, George and Tattie who are in the coffee business, make sure that their son strikes a balance between sports and studies.

“But if he plays for the Philippines, I’d be the proudest mother,” beamed Tattie Honosutomo.