Jakarta Casual: January 2026

Thursday, January 08, 2026

Fallen Giants Persipura Dream Of Big Time Return

I've always felt the strength of a country's domestic football lies in the divisions below the top flight and that is why I have felt it is perfectly ordinary to take an active interest in Indonesia's second tier, now called somewhat unimaginatively Championship. Yesterday I highlighted a couple of new clubs with powerful backers but no history and little in the way of a fan base. Today, we go to the other extreme.

With all these new vanity clubs on the football landscape, it means other, more traditional names have fallen by the wayside and one of these is Persipura. When I started taking an interest in the local football, they dominated the game, winning the title in 2005, 2008/09 and 2011 as well as the Indonesia Soccer Championship (2016), and the Inter Island Cup in 2011.

And yet. Post the era of dualism Persipura have struggled. Things got so bad at one stage, club icon Boaz Solossa even left! Funds dried up as better-run clubs based on the more populated and richer island of Java embraced professionalism in a way Perspiura, so long reliant on local sponsors, couldn't.

The conveyor belt of Papuan talent which started in remote villages, headed to the bright lights of Jayapura before donning the merah-putih of Indonesia dried up. Other Papuan clubs like Persiwa, Perseru, Persiram, Persidafon fell off the radar. To cap it all, the national team which had for so long looked east for flair and talent, pivoted west to embrace a predominantly Dutch-based diaspora.

Football had kept Papua and Persipura in the nation's conscience, but without the beautiful game, that intriguing island, some six hours flying time east of Jakarta, became irrelevant.

Ignomy came when the Black Pearls were relegated at the end of the 2021/22 season and now a fixture of life in the Championship. And this weekend they travel to Balikpapan to face Persiba, another big name fallen on hard times.

Unlike many other relegated big clubs, though the fans haven't disappeared. Last weekend, more than 12,000 saw them defeat Persela 1-0. And for those supporters who have stuck with the team through thick and thin, there is a refreshing red and black thread that runs through the veins dating back 20 years.

Coach Rahmad Darmawan helped kick-start Persipura's glory years back in 2005. Boas Solassa is still there as are the likes of Ruben Sanadi, Ian Kabes, Yustinus Pae and Yohannes Pahabol. Add to that Todd Ferre and Ramai Rumakiek and you can sense the strength of identity fans feel towards their heroes. Of course, the downside of so much experience is that there isn't much of a career path for the next generation of promising young players.

Football fans though can be impatient and after so long in the second tier, you can sense their desire to get back among the big boys and if that needs experience then so be it. Persipura are currently 3rd, a point off the playoff places. As they are finding out, being a big club does not guarantee success and if they are to be promoted it won't be the reputations of so many illustrious players that gets them there - it's what they can do on the pitch in the swansong of their careers.

# posted by Me @ 6:25 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 07, 2026

Well Connected Newbies Dominate Championship

South East Asian football is dominated by clubs owned by powerful folks who invest in the game for a variety of reasons. The classic example of course is Johor Darul Ta'zim in Malaysia while Buriram United in Thailand are of a similar provenance.

A Malaysian crown prince took over a local, privately run team called Johor FC which was going nowhere, rebranded it, ploughed untold amounts of money into not just the players but also an infrastructure the envy of many in Europe. They are unbeaten now in god knows how many games.

In Thailand, another petty, provincial potentate bought the licence of a team, in this case PEA, relocated them to his north eastern province, rebranded them Buriram United and, like his regal peer further south, invested shitloads in building a football club that has no real competition.

In both cases, provincial power and privilege have used their position to build a football club and, using that position, have been able to bring the local community along with them. Both the Chidchobs in Thailand and the royal family in Johor are held in high esteem locally and both have been able to transform sporting backwaters into football behemoths in 15 years.

Both clubs have been supremely successful and both have struggled to overcome cynicism from beyond their borders from fans either jealous or resentful of their success.

Such a business model has been less easy to replicate south of the equator in Indonesia where existing, traditional clubs have a far longer pedigree than in Malaysia and Thailand. There have in recent years been a number of 'new' clubs on the football landscape but with the possible exception of Bali United, these have been little more than vanity projects at best.

Clubs like Bhayangkara, Dewa United, RANS Nusantara.

Where a club does have strong links to people in power, they have struggled to make an impact. Persis, for example. Their club president is a son of a former Indonesian president. They're bottom of the Super League. But Persis are a club with over a century of history and a large fan base locally - with the kind of investment JDT and Buriram United have received, Persis have everything in place to be a massive club.

Moving down to the Championship and we see two new clubs topping Group One and both have in their own way powerful backers.

Garudayaksa were only formed in 2025. In other words, they're only a few months old. Initially formed as a football academy, they bought the license of PSKC Ciamhi, spent some money and now look like they're heading for the Super League. Did I mention they're owned by the present Indonesian president?

PSKC fans in happier days

They moved from Ciamhi, cutting links with their former lives, and relocated to Bekasi, a city near Jakarta which already boasts a number of clubs including Persipasi and Perskasi. Bekasi is also home to the impressive 30,000 seater Patriot Stadium.

Farmel are another club which started as an academy. They started in Liga 3 then the Public Prosecution Service got involved and ultimately changed their name to Adhyaksa FC Banten and they now play their home games at the Banten International Stadium in Serang.

JDT and Buriram United have clear identities, a clear home and make sense to football fans around the world whatever you may think of their ownership. Garudayaksa and Adhyaksa on the other hand lack any sense of identity. Generic club name, parachuted into a stadium in a city they have no real connection to.

Adhyaksa did attract 7,238 for their first home game of the season against Bekasi FC while Garudayaksa pulled in 1,158. Neither side has bettered those opening day crowds with Adhyaksa averaging 3,539 and Garudayaksa pulling in 465. On field success isn't being matched by bums on seats.

It does seem strange that in a country with such a strong football culture, so many new clubs ignore the blueprints of long-established local sides, or JDT and Buriram, and seem content to plough their own furrow, seemingly unconcerned whether they have any fans or not.

# posted by Me @ 6:08 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 06, 2026

Who Are Malut United?

When I left Indonesia in 2017, Malut United weren't even a twitch in someone's loins. Yes, they were founded in that year but they were known as Putra Jombang on account of how Jombang was their home base. Not for long though for the 2021/22 season saw them relocated and rbranded - Putra Delta Sidoarjo (not to be confused with Deltras) before finally ending up on a different island and a different time zone in 2023 when they moved to Ternate (not to be confused with Persiter!).

Malut is of course an acronym for Maluku Utara (North Maluku) and home is one of the fabled spice islands in the far north east of the country.

Their first season as Malut saw them playing in Liga 2. Indeed, I was literally getting ready to go see them play at Perserang when I got a WhatsApp message from my son, who was in England at the time, telling me the game had been called off. No news on the local social medias from either teams for a while, it took a 14 year old on the far side of the world to disseminate the news!

Nicknamed the Gamalama Dragons, Malut United ended their 1st ever season getting promoted to the top flight where they finished 3rd last season. A new club with I guess deep pockets was adapting well to professional football despite being located on the far side of nowhere.

New club maybe, but they have recruited astutely with a strong base of experienced local and foreign players. Abduh Lestalahu for example Abduh along with Manahati Lestusen are both Indonesian internationals who have the added bonus of hailing from the Malukan islands. Along with Frets Butuan and Dimas Drajad they form a core of players with a PS TNI/Persikabo background.

As for foreign legion, 36 year old Brazilian Ciro Alves has a resume which includes Chonburi, Persikabo (!) and Persib before finding a new home in Ternate. Another player with Thai/Persib on his resume is Tyronne del Pino, a 34 year old Spaniard who was named player of the year last season as he helped Persib win the league. 36 year old David da Silva rounds off an experienced and explosive trinity of forwards. Da Silva has also played for Qadsia in Kuwait as well as Persebaya, Pohang Steelers and Persib.

With such a formidable squad at his disposal, and we haven't mentioned Indonesian international Yakob Sayuri, little wonder the widely travelled coach Hendro Susilo (7 teams in 8 years including two spells at Sriwijaya), has moulded them into a decent team, averaging two goals a game and thumping PSBS 6-2 last weekend.

As we approach the halfway point, Malut remain there or thereabouts but with Persija and Persib boasting experience and funds, will the Dragons be able to hang on in there. You gotta love the idea of some of Asia's finest sides groaning when they see the logistics of getting to Ternate if they qualify for the Asian Champions League!

# posted by Me @ 7:09 PM 0 comments

Monday, January 05, 2026

Herdman Takes Charge Of Garuda

Indonesia's appointment of John Herdman to both the national team and the Under-21s was so left field it's difficult to think of a parallel.

The perceived wisdom when it comes to a poisoned chalice as the Indonesian hot seat, is someone at least with Asian experience, and given the recent focus on recruiting the diaspora, someone with knowledge if not of Dutch but at least Dutch football.

Herdman brings neither.

Ever since Luis Milla raised the bar, the PSSI have aimed high with their coaching appointments and the five years Shin Tae Yong spent at the helm showed what could happen when a coach experienced in Asian football is given time.

Sadly, the politically inspired vanity selection of Patrick Kluivert has rather upset the apple cart and done who knows what damage to the national team landscape.

Is Herdman the man to at least take us back to where we were under STY?

Unknown maybe, but he is experienced, having worked in New Zealand and Canada with men's and women's national teams.

But with no disrespect to either nation or his pedigree, New Zealand is a rugby-playing nation and Canada, when they're not telling the world they're separate from the USA, prefers ice-hockey. Football is very much a niche sport and Herdman would have been freely able to walk down to his local minimart without anyone noticing.

Indonesia will be different.Very different. He'll be under pressure from the PSSI who no doubt will be setting unreasonable targets, from the media who will be demanding he win the World Cup by the end of the week and supporters who just want to get behind a team they can believe in

The PSSI has made much of the fact one reason they went for Herdman was his willingness to base himself permanently in Indonesia. If that is true, it's hardly a ringing endorsement!

Until he announces his first squad we won't know whether he will be continuing the diaspora project so enthusiastically backed by the PSSI or if he will turn the focus on local players.

With Indonesian competing in the FIFA Series in March, I guess we won't have long to wait.

# posted by Me @ 11:34 PM 0 comments

Borneo Return To Winning Ways

Borneo v PSM 2-1

(Joel Dos Anjos 2 - Alex Gomes) 6,771

The Samarinda-based side finally ended their run of four games without a win by coming from behind to defeat PSM at Segiri Stadium

Persija v Persijap 2-0 (Arlyansyah Abdulrahman, Aditya Warman) 26,113

Persija needed two second-half goals to overcome plucky Persijap at the Bung Karno with the second a delightful curled effort from outside the box by Aditya

Madura United v Persebaya 0-1 (Bruno Moreira)

With a new coach incoming, Persebaya took a valuable three points from near neighbours Madura. They are now unbeaten in their last 9 league game

Malut United v PSBS Biak 6-2 (Tyronne Ramos, Gustavo Franca, David da Silva, Frets Butuan, Yakob Sayuri, Ciro Alves - Damianus Putra, Heri Susanto)

In the Far Eastern Derby, 1,300 kilometres and a large chunk of water separate these two islands, Malut United kept the pressure on the more traditional sides at the top of the table with this crushing performance

PSIM Yogjakarta v Semen Padang 1-0 (Jose Pedro Valente) 5540

12th loss of the season for relegation-threatened Semen Padang who face bottom place Persis in their next game.

Persis v Persita 1-3 (Gervane Kastaneer - Matheus Alves, Andrejic Aleksa 2)

A fourth straight loss for Persis, the Central Java club part-owned by the son of a former Indonesian president.

Bali United v Arema 1-0 (Agung Widnanya) 8,501

Two-time champions Bali may not be the force they once were but this was a fifth game unbeaten with five clean sheets

Bhayangkara Presisi Lampung v Dewa United 1-0 (Fareed Sadat) 2,647

Afghan international Fareed scored the only goal of the game in this clash between two of the less traditional sides in the league!

Persik v Persib 1-1 (Muhamad Firli - Saddil Ramdani) 3,571

A late, late equaliser by Firli cost Persib three points and the chance of moving joint top of the league. 25 points out of 30 in their last 10 games

1 - Borneo FC 16 12 1 3 31-14 37

2 - Persija 16 11 2 3 32-13 35

3 - Persib 16 11 2 3 26-11 35

4 - Malut United 16 10 4 2 32-17 34

10 goals - Dalberto (Arema), Maxwell (Persija)

9 goals - Mariano Peralta (Borneo FC)

# posted by Me @ 10:28 PM 0 comments

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