Why is Jordi Amat playing for Indonesia? A number of people have asked Google after spotting the man who left Swansea in 2018 appear in the AFF Championship.
The Barcelona-born defender made his debut for Indonesia in a 2-1 win over Cambodia on Friday, but after representing Catalonia and also the Spain Under-21 side, many have wondered about this next step in his career.
So, why is Jordi Amat playing for Indonesia? Let’s take a look…
Why is Jordi Amat playing for Indonesia?
Well, the centre-back has Indonesian ancestry through one of his grandmothers, as they were born in Makassar and are also a descendent of King Siau.
Amat – who made 52 Premier League appearances for Swansea from 2013 to 2018 – was officially welcomed as part of the Nusantara Sultanate Royal Council on July 1st 2022.
Interestingly, the 30-year-old was also named as a prince due to his connections with King Siau.
Amat obtained Indonesian citizenship through naturalisation in November 2022.
After these developments, Shin Tae-yong called the Johor Darul Ta’zim defender up to the Indonesia national team for the AFF Championship, where he played the full 90 minutes on his debut against Cambodia.
Amat is expected to start in Monday’s clash against Brunei in Indonesia’s second Group A game, as well as the other Group Stage encounters with Thailand on Thursday 29th December and the Philippines on Monday 2nd January.
It goes without saying that Amat will hope to fire Indonesia to more victories in these upcoming fixtures, and look to end his first taste of the Indonesia national team with a trophy.
It would be just the third piece of silverware Amat has won in his career, after lifting the Malaysia Cup and the Malaysia FA Cup earlier in 2022.
Jordi Amat profile
Full name: Jordi Amat Maas
Age: 30
Height: 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Date of birth: 21st March 1992
Place of birth: Canet de Mar, Spain
National team: Indonesia
Club: Johor Darul Ta’zim
Position: Centre-back
Net worth: £1.2m
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