Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1970, Eddy Chandra arrived in Cologne in 1989 and pursued his studies at Bochum University of Applied Sciences in the early 1990s. He was already a passionate Borussia Dortmund fan when he got married in 1995.

When and how did you become a Borussia Dortmund fan?
"It happened shortly after I arrived in Germany. Borussia Dortmund not only plays a very attractive style of football but also has the world’s most loyal fans. Even when things are going really badly, they won’t turn their backs on the team. Not to mention the incredible atmosphere in the stadium."

What makes it so electrifying?
"More than anything else, the example that springs to mind for me is the team’s last-minute victory over La Coruna in the UEFA Cup game in December 1994. When Lars Ricken increased our lead to 3–1 in the 119th minute, I thought the Yellow Wall could collapse beneath my feet. The ecstasy, the emotions – it was all simply indescribable. Since 2016, I have attended almost every home game and some of the away matches, too. Unfortunately, I haven’t been going to as many games this year because I was diagnosed with leukemia in April 2021. Even though there is no cure for this disease, I live every second of my life to the fullest. And I’m proud that I was the first to wave the Borussia Dortmund Fan Club Indonesia flag at Signal Iduna Park in 2018."

How long has Fan Club Indonesia been around? 
"I established it on May 1, 2012. At first, it only existed on Facebook until I got to know some other Borussia Dortmund enthusiasts. When I flew to Indonesia in 2015, I met with other Borussia fans in Jakarta. Even though there were only “09” members at the time, I was able to galvanize them into helping me build a Borussia Dortmund fan base in Indonesia. It wasn’t an easy task, especially as it’s no secret that the German Bundesliga isn’t quite as popular in Indonesia as other top European leagues, such as the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A. Today, we have almost 200 members. My Indonesian friends watch the Borussia Dortmund games at the Ritz Café Hotel Orchardz in Jakarta and at the Kedai Dulang Acong in Bogor."

Interview: Uwe Schedlbauer

Indonesia is a culturally rich and diverse country whose 280 million inhabitants belong to more than 300 different ethnic and religious groups and speak twice as many languages. Comprising thousands of islands, the country spans the continents of Asia and Australia and is the largest in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is also among the twenty strongest economies in the world, which makes it attractive to companies and investors. Specialty chemicals group Evonik is one such business that expanded into Indonesia more than 25 years ago and today has an office and two production sites in the country. More than 100 people work together at the local sites to make life better for everyone.

In this section, our main sponsor Evonik, who supports us at all of our international games, lets soccer fans who feel close to Borussia Dortmund but live nowhere near SIGNAL IDUNA PARK have their say.

Evonik not only has factories in 27 countries but also offices in 100 countries, although Syria is not one of them. As is the case with lots of other people, many Syrian refugees first come into contact with the Essen-based company through its partnership with Borussia Dortmund. Although the Evonik Group’s specialty chemicals are found in all kinds of everyday objects, you won’t find the Evonik brand name on them. That’s because Evonik makes electric car batteries perform better, aircraft greener, medications more effective and 3D printers more efficient. In short, Evonik thinks beyond the bounds of chemistry to make the world a better place. Take, for example, our current Act Like A Leader campaign in cooperation with Borussia Dortmund.