Monday, November 13, 2017
Persib Season Ends In Disgrace After Perseru Loss
Following on from their 2014 Indonesia Super League title success it looked like Persib were set fair to dominate the domestic game for years to come. They had the squad, they had the supporters and they had the vision off the field.
Then came the FIFA suspension. Persib had reached the last 16 of the AFC Cup but the rug was pulled from under their feet and domestically the ISL was halted. The winning mentality hung around for a while and they still won the President's Cup but by 2016 key components of the title winning squad had moved on including coach Djadjang Nurdjaman.
With no official league Persib joined the other ISL teams in the Indonesia Soccer Championship in 2016 and after a slow start fan pressure forced out coach Dejan Antonic and the club were forced to welcome back Djadjang to salvage a rudderless ship.
For the 2017 Persib went out aggressively recruiting high profile players like Michael Essien, Carlton Cole and Raphael Maitimo but struggled to gel as Djadjang tried to juggle his squad with the demands of an interfering management. He was on a loser and tried to resign but the club wouldn't let him.
Eventually he did manage to step down and Persib found a 'suitable' replacement in Emral Abus but results didn't improve and the team blessed with so many riches went into freefall.
Fan discontent that had started in the 2016 season showed no signs of going away with some invading the pitch after losing away to Bhayangkara to express their disgust at the way the club was being run.
Manager Umuh Muchtar was banned from football for six months after Persib stopped playing in Solo after seeing a perfectly good goal disallowed by the Australian ref. While many supporters were happy to see him go the results didn't improve and Persib ended the season with three straight losses.
The Bobotoh kept supporting their team and more than 20,000 saw their Under 19s play in the final against Persipura in Cikarang. The Black Pearls won 1-0 and elements of the Persib support responded by trashing parts of the newly built stadium.
Persib's final game of the season saw them hosting relegation threatened Perseru. The visitors secured their spot in Liga 1 next season with a surprise 2-0 and, humiliated, Persib fans kicked off again, invading the pitch and throwing rocks at the team coach. That 23,000 supporters showed for this end of season disaster says much about the loyalty of the Bobotoh; that Persib should lose, their first home loss of the season, says much of the disharmony around the football club.
Persib ended the season just six points clear of the relegation places and with four losses in their last six games. The season hasn't been all doom and gloom as the faithful have seen young players like Febri Haryadi, Billy Keraf and Gian Zola come in and make an impression. But they were handicapped by a lack of goals. Carlton Cole was regularly attacked by the manager during his stay as he struggled for fitness and Sergio van Dijk missed most of the season through injury. That midfielder Rapahel Maitimo ended up as top scorer with nine goals only highlights the lack of potency up top for the season.
Persib need a serious overhaul if they are to challenge the new breed of teams that have arrived on the scene/ Champions Bhayangkara, Bali United and Madura United and even PSM and Persija have shown clubs need to appoint a coach and let the coach do his job. You get the impression that is not the case in Bandung. That requires a shake up of the club culture and it remains to be seen whether or not the club want to go down that road.
The Bobotoh kept supporting their team and more than 20,000 saw their Under 19s play in the final against Persipura in Cikarang. The Black Pearls won 1-0 and elements of the Persib support responded by trashing parts of the newly built stadium.
Persib's final game of the season saw them hosting relegation threatened Perseru. The visitors secured their spot in Liga 1 next season with a surprise 2-0 and, humiliated, Persib fans kicked off again, invading the pitch and throwing rocks at the team coach. That 23,000 supporters showed for this end of season disaster says much about the loyalty of the Bobotoh; that Persib should lose, their first home loss of the season, says much of the disharmony around the football club.
Persib ended the season just six points clear of the relegation places and with four losses in their last six games. The season hasn't been all doom and gloom as the faithful have seen young players like Febri Haryadi, Billy Keraf and Gian Zola come in and make an impression. But they were handicapped by a lack of goals. Carlton Cole was regularly attacked by the manager during his stay as he struggled for fitness and Sergio van Dijk missed most of the season through injury. That midfielder Rapahel Maitimo ended up as top scorer with nine goals only highlights the lack of potency up top for the season.
Persib need a serious overhaul if they are to challenge the new breed of teams that have arrived on the scene/ Champions Bhayangkara, Bali United and Madura United and even PSM and Persija have shown clubs need to appoint a coach and let the coach do his job. You get the impression that is not the case in Bandung. That requires a shake up of the club culture and it remains to be seen whether or not the club want to go down that road.
# posted by Me @ 1:49 PM 
