Soetjipto Soentoro

Soetjipto Soentoro (16 June 1941 – 12 November 1994), commonly known as "Gareng", was an Indonesian footballer who captained Indonesia's national team.

Early life Born in Bandung, Jawa Barat, he was raised in a family of football enthusiasts. His brothers, Soegijo and Soegito, were played for Persija Jakarta between 1952 and 1964. Soetjipto played football as a teenager in the streets in the area of Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta in 1954. He came to the attention of Djamiat Dalhar when playing for Setia Jakarta (a Persija youth team) who subsequently called Soetjipto up to the national junior team.

At 16 years old, Soentoro joined Persija where he was given his nickname "Gareng", after a diminutive character in Indonesia's Wayang, due his short stature.

Club career

In his debut, Soentoro scored four goals in a 7–0 win against PSP Padang. He followed up that performance with a goal against PSB Bogor and an equaliser against PSM Makassar. With four more goals against PSMS and a hat trick against Persib, Soentoro helped Persija reach the final which they won against Persebaya to become the 1964 Perserikatan champions. After an unbeaten season, Soentoro was confirmed as the top scorer having scored 16 goals in his debut season.

During the newly formatted 1964–65 Perserikatan, Persija failed to defend their title, losing in the semi-final despite Soentoro scoring in their first leg victory over Persebaya. They would go on to lose the second leg 4–2 and be eliminated as a result.

In the 1965–66 Perserikatan, Persija finished forth in the West Zone with Soetjipto scoring three times in his five appearances.

Persija fared better in the 1966–67 Perserikatan, finishing third in the Western Group with Soetjipto scoring five goals in his five appearances.

In the 1969–71 Perserikatan, Soetjipto scored two goals in his three appearances.

National team career

Junior team

In the 1960 AFC Youth Championship, Soetjipto Soentoro scored five goals to lead Indonesia to a third place finish, scoring his first against Singapore in the first minute. His performance at the tournament led him to receive his first senior call-up.

Senior team In 1965, Indonesia travelled to Europe to play two powerhouses of European football, Feyenoord, of the Netherlands and SV Werder Bremen, of Germany.

Despite Sukarno's words of motivation prior to their game against the Eredivisie champions Feyenoord, featuring Guus Hiddink, Indonesia lost 6–1 with Soentoro scoring in the second minute. He would follow this performance with a hat trick against Bundesliga champions Werder Bremen Bremen manager, Günter Brocker, offered Soentoro a chance to play for Werder Bremen but this was not sanctioned by Sukarno, especially as the squad was preparing for the 1966 Asian Games.

Soetjipto made his debut in international competitions at the 1966 Asian Games in Tokyo, scoring two goals as Indonesia reached the quarter-finals and followed that up at the 1966 Aga Khan Gold Cup with nine goals in four games including a goal in the final against Mohammedan SC, which Indonesia won 2–1.

Soetjipto scored nine goals at the 1968 Merdeka Tournament and helped Indonesia win the 1968 King's Cup with seven goals in five games followed by victory in the 1969 Merdeka Tournament with another eleven goals from Soetjipto.

At the 1970 Asian Games, Soetjipto only managed one goal in their match against Iran. Following the tournament he announced his retirement.

Managerial career Initially Soetjipto joined Bank Negara Indonesia before choosing to study coaching in West Germany in 1978 and eventually coaching Buana Putra, Persiba Balikpapan and Persiraja Banda Aceh.

Soetjipto also managed the Indonesia under-19 during the 1978 AFC Youth Championship and 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship. However his Indonesian side were unable to progress beyond the group stage after losing each of their games by five or more goals.

Death In 1990, Soetjipto suffered from liver cancer, after four years fighting against the illness, he died on 12 November 1994. He was 53 years old. He left two children, Bisma and Tantri.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Indonesia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Soentoro goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Soetjipto Soentoro Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 29 April 1965 Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia 3–0 5–0 Friendly 24–0 3 14 December 1966 Bangkok, Thailand 1–0 3–1 1966 Asian Games 4 15 December 1966 Bangkok, Thailand 1–0 2–2 5 27 July 1967 Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei, Republic of China 1–1 1–1 1968 AFC Asian Cup qualification 63 August 1967 Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei, Republic of China 1–1 2–3 72–3 8 5 August 1967 Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei, Republic of China 1–0 1–2 97 August 1967 Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei, Republic of China 2–0 6–0 103–0 11 22 January 1968 Ipoh, Malaysia 3–1 4–1 1967 Merdeka Tournament 12 22 January 1968 Supachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 1–0 1–1 1968 Summer Olympics qualification 1315 August 1968 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1–0 4–0 1968 Merdeka Tournament 144–0 1518 August 1968 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1–0 10–1 163–0 178–1 18 24 November 1968 Bangkok, Thailand 1–1 3–1 1968 King's Cup 1926 November 1968 Bangkok, Thailand 2–0 7–0 203–0 214–0 2228 November 1968 Bangkok, Thailand 2–0 6–1 234–1 245–1 25 2 December 1968 Bangkok, Thailand 1–0 1–0 267 November 1969 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 4–0 9–2 1969 Merdeka Tournament 278–2 289–2 29 9 November 1969 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2–2 3–2 3026 November 1969 Bangkok, Thailand 2–0 3–1 1969 King's Cup 313–0 321 August 1970 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1–0 3–1 1970 Merdeka Tournament 332–0 3410 August 1970 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1–0 6–3 352–1 36 13 November 1970 Bangkok, Thailand 1–0 2–4 1970 King's Cup 37 10 December 1970 Bangkok, Thailand 1–1 2–2 1970 Asian Games

Honours Persija Jakarta Perserikatan (1): 1964

PSMS Medan Perserikatan (1): 1969

Indonesia U19 AFC Youth Championship (1): 1961

Indonesia Aga Khan Gold Cup (1): 1966 Merdeka Tournament (1): 1969 King's Cup (1): 1968

Individual Merdeka Tournament Top Scorer: 1969 King's Cup Top Scorer: 1968 Galatama Top Scorer: 1964 AFC Asian All Stars: 1967, 1968 IFFHS Men's All Time Indonesia Dream Team: 2022