Tuesday, January 06, 2026
Who Are Malut United?
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!
