Will Persib Bandung's Dominance Continue in the Super League?

How are the clubs trying to compete with Persib?

The BRI Super League, also known as the Indonesian Super League, for the 2025-2026 season will commence on Friday (8/8/2025). The main highlight of this edition is the efforts of 17 participating teams to disrupt the hegemony of Persib Bandung, which has dominated Indonesia for two consecutive years.

"Maung Bandung" aspires to become the first team in the history of professional competitions in Indonesia to win three consecutive championships. To achieve this, Persib, under the management of Bojan Hodak, is taking a path that goes against the mainstream. They are overhauling the squad under the pretext of rejuvenating the team.

Important stars who helped Persib win the championship last season, such as Kevin Ray Mendoza, Ciro Alves, Tyronne del Pino, Gustavo Franca, David da Silva, and Edo Febriansyah, have changed jerseys for the 2025-2026 season. In return, Persib has brought in nine completely new foreign players.

Subsequently, three local players were also brought in to strengthen the team's depth, such as Saddil Ramdani, Alfeandra Dewangga, and Hamra Hehanussa. This move was able to reduce the average age of the Persib squad from 30 years to around 27 years.

In addition, Maung Bandung has also demonstrated a much more serious preparation compared to the previous two seasons. After completing the President's Cup 2025 event, Hodak took his team for a closed training camp in Thailand for 10 days.

What is the most suitable game strategy for Super League?

The last three editions of Indonesia's top competition, known as Liga 1, have been dominated by teams coached by pragmatically-minded trainers. PSM Makassar, under Bernardo Tavares, and Bojan Hodak, who led Persib Bandung to victory, achieved success without the embellishment of an attacking style characterized by superior ball possession in every match.

PSM has established itself as the champion of Indonesia for the 2022-2023 season with an average ball possession of only 43 percent per game. The "Juku Eja" team, with the lowest ball possession percentage, managed to become the champion while also securing the highest points in the era of Liga 1. They collected 75 points in 34 matches.

Persib, meanwhile, transformed into a team focused on controlling the game, with Luis Milla prioritizing victory under Hodak's guidance. Their respective possession of 46 percent per match in 2023-2024 and 49 percent per match in 2024-2025 were enough for Persib to become back-to-back champions.

Tavares and Hodak will still be seen on the sidelines with their respective teams in the BRI Super League 2025-2026. Both coaches have even become the longest-serving coaches for a club in this edition of Indonesia's top-tier competition.

It is recorded that Tavares, who hails from Portugal, has been in charge of PSM for approximately 3 years and 3 months. Hodak, with Persib, has also entered his second year.

What is the difference between the Super League and League 1?

The highest tier competition in Indonesia has a new title. It is called the BRI Super League. This new naming has resulted in several changes being made, ranging from the logo to the champion's trophy.

The ambition of I.League, the operator of the competition formerly known as PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB), is for the presence of this new brand of competition to mark a new beginning in elevating the status of the league in the Asian region.

In addition, the Super League also demonstrates the return of foreign sponsor confidence. This is evidenced by the presence of Adidas as the provider of competition equipment, such as official match balls and player uniforms.

"Our commitment is to create a more professional, transparent, and competitive league," said I.League President Director Ferry Paulus in Jakarta, Sunday (3/8/2025).

Three matches will kick off the first day of the 2025-2026 Super League on Friday (8/8/2025). Three promoted teams, namely PSIM Yogyakarta, Bhayangkara Presisi Lampung, and Persijap Jepara, will be playing away matches.

Bhayangkara will play at home against Borneo FC at Segiri Stadium, Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Friday at 15:30 WIB. The two clubs that were promoted from Liga 2 last season will compete on Friday at 19:00 WIB.

Can local players compete with imported players?

The dominance of foreign players from Brazil is directly proportional to their ability to secure the most prestigious individual title in Liga 1 Indonesia. The golden boot trophy, awarded to the top scorer, has consistently been given to strikers from the "Samba Nation" for the past three seasons.

For three consecutive seasons, three strikers from Brazil have alternately topped the list of the highest goal scorers in Indonesia's top-tier competition. This dominance began with Matheus Pato while playing for Borneo FC in the 2022-2023 season. He scored 25 goals.

At that time, Pato established himself as the first Brazilian player to win the golden boot in the era of Liga 1 Indonesia. In the history of professional leagues in Indonesia, which has been counted since the unification of Galatama and Perserikatan from 1994-1995, Pato is the second Brazilian player to hold the title of top scorer. He matched the record of Jacksen F Tiago.

Jacksen established himself as the first Brazilian player to top the scoring list in Indonesia during the 1996-1997 competition campaign. His collection of 26 goals for Persebaya Surabaya is a remarkable achievement for Jacksen.

After Pato, David da Silva perfected the championship title for Persib in the 2023-2024 season by becoming the top scorer. The stocky striker contributed 30 goals, which were instrumental in "Maung Bandung" securing their third Indonesian League title.