Ricky Yacobi (born Ricky; 12 March 1963 – 21 November 2020) was an Indonesian football player. He usually played as a striker and was one of the most prominent Indonesian footballers of the 1980s. His nickname was the "Indonesian

Paul Breitner Paul Breitner (; born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back. Considered one of the best full-backs and midfielders of all time, and one of the best players of his era, Breitner was n ...

". He made a name for himself at the 1986 Asian Games when he led the Indonesia national team to the semi-finals.

Early life

Ricky was born on 12 March 1963 in

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

North Sumatra North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...

. His father, Yacob, came from

Manado Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...

North Sulawesi North Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is mainly located on the Minahasa Peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia, but also includes various small archipel ...

, while his mother came from Medan itself. He was born

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

ously with a single name, Ricky, and subsequently adopted his father's name, Yacob, as his last name. However, during his time playing football in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, he found that many people pronounced his name as "Yacobi" for ease of pronunciation, and he chose to embrace this variation.

Club career

Yacobi started his football career by joining the PSMS Medan youth club, Putra Abadi. In 1978, he moved to Srinaga. His great talent then led him to join Teras and then Perisai which was fostered by the Directorate General of Taxes and trained by Wibisono. In 1980, he was recruited by PSMS Medan and played for the under-18 team, which successfully won the Soeratin Cup that year. Subsequently, he, along with several of his teammates, including Juanda, Supardi, and Bambang Usmanto, was promoted to the senior team by the coach at that time, Yuswardi. He played with PSMS Medan in the Perserikatan tournament until 1985, after he was recruited by Arseto Solo, a club competing in

Galatama Liga Sepak Bola Utama ( English: ''Premier Football League''), commonly known by its acronym Galatama, was a semi professional football league in Indonesia, established in 1979 by the Indonesian Football Association, PSSI. Prior to the establishme ...

. During his five-year tenure at PSMS Medan, Yacobi contributed to the team by securing two Perserikatan titles, specifically in the seasons of 1983 and 1985. In 1988, Japanese club Matsushita Electric (currently known as

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's home stadium is Panasonic Stadium Suita. They form a ...

) bought him, but he was unable to make a significant impact on the team due to difficulties in adapting to the climate and weather conditions. He only played 6 games for the club, scoring one goal before returning to Arseto Solo the following year.

International career

He was a part of the Indonesia national team during the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and

1989 Southeast Asian Games The 1989 Southeast Asian Games (), officially known as the 15th Southeast Asian Games, were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20 to 31 August 1989 with 25 sports featured in the games. It was officially opened by 9th Yang ...

, where he contributed to the team's achievements of winning gold and bronze medals, respectively.

Personal life

Born as a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, he initiated a profound study of his religious teachings following his return from Japan in 1989. Yacobi was married to Harly Ramayani. Their child, Sabihisma Arsyi, is a former

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

athlete who is currently pursuing

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

. After retiring as a footballer, Yacobi opened a football school called Sekolah Sepak Bola (SSB) Ricky Yacobi in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, which he operated. He also served as manager of one of the first Indonesian division clubs, Jakarta Matador FC.

Death

On 21 November 2020 Yacobi died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while playing football with several former national team players and journalists at Senayan A Field,

Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex The Bung Karno Sports Complex (), better known as Gelora Bung Karno; formerly named the Asian Games Complex ( and the Senayan Sports Complex () from 1969 to 2001, is a sports complex located in Gelora, Tanah Abang, Gelora, Central Jakarta, border ...

. One of his teammates said that Yacobi suddenly fell when he was about to celebrate after scoring a goal. He was rushed to the nearby , but to no avail.

Career statistics

International

: ''Indonesia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Yacobi goal.''

Honours

PSMS Medan U18 * Soeratin Cup: 1980 PSMS Medan * Perserikatan: 1983, 1985 Arseto Solo *

: 1990–92 * Galatama-Perserikatan Invitational Championship: 1987 Indonesia *

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

Gold medal:

; Bronze medal:

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Individual * Galatama top scorers: 1986–87, 1990

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yacobi, Ricky 1963 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Medan Indonesian men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Indonesian expatriate sportspeople in Japan PSMS Medan players Arseto F.C. players Gamba Osaka players Indonesia men's international footballers Indonesian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards Footballers at the 1986 Asian Games SEA Games gold medalists for Indonesia SEA Games medalists in football Competitors at the 1987 SEA Games Asian Games footballers for Indonesia Association football players who died while playing Sport deaths in Indonesia 20th-century Indonesian sportsmen