Joining Persita Tangerang is Hokky Caraka's chance to reach his full potential.

TANGERANG, KOMPAS — The professional career journey of Hokky Caraka, who is still in its infancy, proves that the Indonesian football public is not welcoming to local talent. The expectations are excessively high, and online insults overshadow the fact that Hokky will only turn 21 on August 21.

PSS Sleman, the team that has been represented by Hokky since the 2021-2022 edition of Liga 1 Indonesia, announced the departure of the young striker on Friday (1/8/2025). Hokky will not follow in the footsteps of "Super Elja," which has been relegated. He will continue to play in Indonesia's top-tier competition, BRI Liga Super 2025-2026.

Hokky has agreed to move to Persita Tangerang. The player, who is a pure center forward, completed all necessary arrangements with his new club on Saturday (2/8/2025). "The Warriors of Cisadane" are scheduled to introduce Hokky as a new recruit at the beginning of next week.

A collection of 68 appearances in Liga 1 with a record of seven goals and four assists is Hokky's capital to rise in the second half of 2025. Since entering 2025, misfortune seems to have overshadowed Hokky. Luck has distanced itself from him.

Starting from the unsatisfactory performance with the Indonesian national team at the 2024 ASEAN Championship, the "Garuda" was eliminated in the group stage. Following this, with the end of Shin Tae-yong's regime, Hokky was also dropped from the Indonesian national team. Coach Patrick Kluivert did not call up Hokky for the match calendar in March and June.

The closed path in the national team aligns with the decline in PSS's performance. Hokky failed to save Super Elja from the threat of relegation. Ultimately, PSS returns to the second-tier competition that they left in 2018.

Unfortunate fate was once again experienced by Hokky at the recently concluded ASEAN U-23 Championship 2025, on Tuesday (29/7/2025). Appearing for only 69 minutes across four matches, Hokky failed to score a single goal. His name appeared on the scoreboard thanks to his successful execution as one of the penalty takers in the shootout against Thailand.

The performance at the ASEAN U-23 Championship garnered more attention when Hokky reported several social media accounts that insulted him online. This underscores that Hokky has never received fair treatment since his name rose to prominence with the Indonesian U-20 team ahead of the 2023 U-20 World Cup.

"I am pleased with Hokky," said Indonesia U-23 team coach Gerald Vanenburg regarding Hokky's quality during the recent ASEAN U-23 Championship.

On several occasions, Shin has also acknowledged the quality of Hokky, whom he has known since adolescence. "He has the ability to compete," said Shin.

Defending the distinctive purple jersey of Persita should be an opportunity that Hokky must not waste. Hokky's reputation as one of the young, promising forwards must be upheld alongside the "Pendekar Cisadane."

On the other hand, Persita also hopes to find a sharp striker who can restore its status as a top-tier competitor like in the early 2000s. Two decades ago, Persita had Ilham Jayakesuma and Zaenal Arief as mainstays in the front line.

Ilham, in particular, is a legend of Persita in the modern era. The title of top scorer in the Indonesian League in 2002 and 2004 is evidence that Ilham has left an everlasting mark on Persita.

After the Ilham era, the Cisadane Warriors did not truly have a striker who could guarantee many goals. Dozens of local and foreign forwards have been tried, including in the last four editions of Liga 1.

In the 2024-2025 season, Persita had the opportunity to achieve their best performance since their promotion in 2019. They occupied the sixth position in the first half of the season. However, at the end of the season, Persita could only finish in the 11th position.

The main culprit behind the decline in performance after the mid-season is the decrease in the productivity of the attacking line. In the first week to the 18th week, Persita scored 18 goals. This goal quantity decreased, with only 14 goals scored from the 19th week until the closing week in the 34th match.

If they could enhance the sharpness of their forwards, Pendekar Cisadane could certainly conclude the season in a better position. This is because the guarantee for teams to break into the top 10 zone is to score more than 50 goals. In fact, Arema, sitting in 10th place, has scored 53 goals, surpassing Pendekar Cisadane's productivity by 21 goals.

Compared to the trio of relegation teams from last season, Persita was less productive than PSS (43 goals) and Barito Putera (42 goals). Only PSIS Semarang (29 goals), the bottom team, recorded fewer goals than Persita during the 2024-2025 season.

The situation has placed a significant responsibility on Hokky at Persita. Persita's coach, Carlos Pena, has Matheus Alves and Ahmad Nur Hardianto in the number nine position. However, both strikers have already reached their thirties.

This means that the physical strength, ambition to improve performance, and potential for development of both are not as great as Hokky. It is not surprising that Pena will prepare Hokky as the new main striker for Persita.

PSS manager Leonard Tupamahu believes that Hokky has great potential to enhance his performance at Persita. "We believe this is the right step for Hokky to continue to develop," said Leonard regarding PSS's decision to release Hokky to Persita.

However, in order to witness Hokky reach his best potential, Pena and the coaching staff of Persita must assist Hokky in overcoming psychological distractions. Hokky's mental state and fighting spirit need to be restored to their optimal condition so that his performance on the green field improves. Moreover, Hokky has been experiencing a goal drought in the league since October 20, 2024.

Persita's conducive and friendly dressing room atmosphere towards young players is an important asset for Hokky's revival.

Great hopes surround the striker from Gunungkidul, DI Yogyakarta, as he heads to the Indomilk Arena Stadium. It has been too long since the supporters of Persita have sung special chants for their striker.

"Ilham Jaya Kesuma made a hat trick today".

The echoes of the supporters' chants for Persita that could be heard at every home match at the Benteng Stadium in Tangerang in the early 2000s. Those cheers have long been carried away by the wind due to the absence of a sharp striker in the Pendekar Cisadane uniform.

Can Hokky achieve that honor? May good fortune be with him at Persita…