On the sixth of January, over 250 million Indonesians held their breath, when their national team walked onto the pitch for the semifinal of the AFF championship in a game between Indonesia versus Vietnam. This was a massive game for Indonesia. The players lined up for the national anthem. Ten of them were born and raised in Indonesia, however one stood out: a player from Europe, who somehow became an adored international player for Indonesia.

This is the story of the man who is often called the David Beckham of Southeast Asia. Marc Klok was born and raised in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He played as a midfielder in Bulgaria and Scotland, before making a surprise move to the Indonesian league back in 2017. When Klok arrived in Indonesia, he thrived both on and off the pitch. He managed to become an Indonesian international player, even though he had no Indonesian roots. He has also captained their national football team several times over the last twelve months. 

We scheduled a call with Marc Klok for a podcast, to find out how he became the David Beckham of Southeast Asia. Welcome to the 433 podcast.

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