Bertje Matulapelwa

Bertje Matulapelwa

Personal information
Date of birth	(1941-01-01)1 January 1941
Place of birth	Ambon, Indonesia
Date of death	9 July 2002(2002-07-09) (aged 61)
Place of death	Kendari, Indonesia
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	PSA Ambon
Managerial career
1985–1989	Indonesia
1986	Pelita Jaya
1990–1991	Gresik United
1992–1993	PSIM Yogyakarta
1994–1995	BPD Jateng
1996–1997	Madura United
1999–2000	PSIM Yogyakarta
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bertje Matulapelwa often called “The Preacher” (1 January 1941 – 9 July 2002) was an Indonesian former football manager and footballer who last managed PSIM Yogyakarta.

Career

Matulapelwa has been regarded as one of the highest performing Indonesian managers to have managed the Indonesia national football team.

Matulapelwa was appointed to coach the Indonesian national team ahead of the 1985 SEA Games. However, he faced failure in his first SEA Games as Indonesia only reached the semifinals, suffering a humiliating defeat to Thailand with a score of 7-0.

Despite the setback at the 1985 SEA Games in Thailand, Matulapelwa was still entrusted to coach Indonesia in the 1986 Asian Games held in Seoul. To everyone's surprise, Indonesia managed to compete with strong Asian nations.

In the group stage, The Garuda advanced alongside Saudi Arabia, the group champions. In the quarterfinals, Indonesia defeated the United Arab Emirates in a penalty shootout of 4-3 after a 2-2 draw during the regular 90 minutes plus 30 minutes of extra time. Indonesia's journey ended in the semifinals against the host country, South Korea, with a score of 0-4. Indonesia failed to secure the bronze medal after being defeated by Kuwait with a score of 0-5.

In the 1987 SEA Games, Matulapelwa made thorough preparations by calling up the best players from two prestigious competitions in Indonesia, namely Perserikatan and Galatama.

During the 1987 SEA Games, the Indonesian national team had to settle for being the Runner-Up in Group B behind Thailand, after losing in terms of goal aggressiveness.

Despite finishing as the Runner-Up in Group B, the Indonesian national team delivered an impressive performance in the semifinals by defeating Burma 4-1, earning them a spot in the final. In the final match held at Gelora Senayan (currently known as Gelora Bung Karno), Matulapelwa successfully guided the Indonesian national team to defeat Malaysia with a score of 1-0. The winning goal for the Indonesian national team was scored by Ribut Waidi in the 91st minute, or in the early minutes of Extra Time.

Honours

Manager

Indonesia

• Southeast Asian Games Gold medal: 1987
• Asian Games Semi-final : 1986