September 17, 2025

It feels surreal to be talking about football despite the volatile situation in Indonesia, as much as the hostile away day is a test of the mettle of our squad. Football remains a means of social escape for the fans, a functioning public institution amidst the chaos. While there is some semblance of familiarity from our last meeting in Bandung (like the heavily fortified stadium and Bojan Hodak in the dugout), this preview will discuss the key personnel changes and how we can approach the start of the new ACL Two campaign. Key differences from last year As usual, in the world of ASEAN football, the incremental improvement in the quality of foreigners necessitates a ruthless clear-out of past heroes. GK – Kevin Ray Mendoza has left for Chonburi, as much as the key Azkal required a bigger stage to perform and cement his continued relevance to his national team. Adding to the three local backups, the Bandung Tigers has recruited Welshman Adam Przybek to be the main custodian in goal. The former England and Wales youth international has not had the best of senior careers after graduating from West Brom and Ipswich, being a backup before his breakthrough season with Welsh Premier League club Penybont. Having played a starring role in Penybont’s second placed finish and qualifying for Europe in the process, Persib wasted no time in plucking the half-Polish custodian from the UEFA Conference League bound club for the ACL Two. The extra 5cm in height (1.92m as opposed to Kevin Ray’s 1.87m) and European experience was perhaps what Persib was going for, similar to Ivan Susak complementing Izwan Mahbud. DF: Fran Putros is a familiar face for our side, scoring for Port FC before the season-defining second half heroics last year. Although he might provide insider knowledge to nullify some of our threat, the headline signing at the back is Eliano Reijnders, brother of Manchester City and Holland international Tijjani. Eliano plays for the homeland of his Indonesian mother, as a foreign-born heritage player turbocharging the Garudas towards continental success. A quick start in the ACL Two, like how his brother contributed a goal and assist (to Erling Haaland, no less) on his league debut would go a long way to endearing him with the demanding Persib fanatics. Argentinian defender Patricio Matricardi (from FC Botosani), Brazilian Julio Cesar (from Chiangrai) and former Italy youth international Federico Barba (from FC Sion) completes the recruitment at the back. Given the near unlimited number of foreign players that can be fielded, it would be very difficult for the likes of Zalnando and Alfeandra Dewangga to see minutes. MF – While Marc Klok and the delightfully named “Beckham” Putra have remained as key creators for Persib, these local talents might have stiff competition in the midfield engine room. Thom Haye, a midfield schemer in the mould of Ramselaar, comes highly rated from Almere City, having gained his Indonesian passport through the heritage route. Long-serving youth team product Febri Hariyadi might also feature, complementing their new signings closer to home. Luciano Guaycochea from Perak and the Brazilians William Marcilio (Arema) and Berguinho (Borneo) may seem underrated at first, but familiarity with the local conditions might be a way to counter the technical football we would be looking to play. Expect these players to make appearances off the bench to inject an element of surprise in the later stages. FW – Bringing Saddil Ramdani home from Sabah was a masterstroke, having earned caps for Indonesia while also making strides in the AFC Cup with the Malaysian side in the 2023/24 season. It is a much-changed frontline, with the aging trio of Ciro Alves, David and Tyronne del Pino making way for Uiliiam Barros, Ramon Tanque and Andrew Jung. While it is a similar approach to last year (Frenchman Jung combining with 2 Brazilians), their relatively lightweight resumes in the likes of the Kuwaiti, Cambodian and Greek leagues do not bode well for the big shoes left by their predecessors to be filled. The short-lived stint of Curacao international striker Gervane Kastaneers might be indicative of the problems Persib have in getting a quality finisher who are able to cement a place in the club’s midterm plans. How about us? At the risk of jinxing it, ACL2 nights are made for the likes of Anderson Lopes to succeed despite a slow start in the league. While the increased foreign presence may lead to a more tactical game, more akin to chess than boxing, the goalscoring return of Abdul Rasaq allows us more game changing wildcards to use especially in tense matches and unpredictable conditions. SFT Predicted Line-up Ivan Safuwan, Toni, Bailey, Diogo Hariss, Rui, Tsiy Maxime , Lennart, Bart SFT Score predictions Written by Joseph Chin If you’d like to support the work we do here at SailorFanTalk, you may want to visit https://ko-fi.com/sailorfantalk and leave us a tip!