Persib Bandung and Indonesian League 1 Giant Clubs Work Together to Regenerate Foreign Players

The announcement of new players by Indonesian Liga 1 clubs ahead of the 2025-2026 season is becoming increasingly vibrant. Specifically regarding the arrival of foreign legionnaires, there is a common thread. Teams in the upper echelons are implementing rejuvenation strategies for their foreign player quotas.

This is very striking from the Indonesian League champion for two consecutive seasons, Persib Bandung. Still under the management of Croatian tactician Bojan Hodak, the "Maung Bandung" conducted a clearance of their foreign player stock.

The most influential players in Persib's journey to defend the championship title for the 2024-2025 season, namely Tyronne Del Pino and Ciro Alves, are no longer wearing the blue jersey. Tyronne's record of 21 goals and 9 assists, along with Alves' 7 goals and 13 assists, did not sway the management of Persib to initiate a squad regeneration for the 2025-2026 season.

Tyronne, who is 34 years old, and Alves, who is 36 years old, have been eliminated from Maung Bandung. Four other foreign players who have also reached their thirties have been released. They are Nick Kuipers (32), Kevin Ray Mendoza (30), Matep Kocijan (30), and David da Silva (35).

As a replacement, Hodak brought in seven new foreign players, of which only three have reached the age of 30. Julio Cesar (30) plays as a central defender, Luciano Guayochea (33) in central midfield, and forward Uilliam (30). One more foreign player is set to follow to complete the quota of eight foreign players, namely central defender Patricio Matricardi (31).

The other four imported players from Maung Bandung are Adam Przybek (goalkeeper/25), Wiliam Marcilio (midfielder/28), Berguinho (midfielder/28), and Ramon Tanque (forward/26).

Of the seven foreign players who have been officially introduced, only Marcilio and Berguinho have a career history in Indonesia's Liga 1. Last season, Marcilio played half a season for Arema FC. Berguinho represented Borneo FC.

The presence of foreign players is certainly overshadowed by the ambition to retain the Liga 1 Indonesia trophy for three consecutive seasons, while Persib is also determined to perform better in the Asian club competition, specifically the AFC Champions League Two.

Persib's journey in the 2024-2025 Asian Champions League came to a halt in the qualifying round. They were unable to compete with the finalists Lion City Sailors and the Thai club, Port FC.

Before appearing in the main round of the second-tier Asian competition for the upcoming season, Persib will compete against the Philippine representative, Manila Digger, in the eastern zone qualification round on August 13. The qualifying match will take place in a single game at the home ground of Manila Digger.

Regardless of that achievement ambition, the new foreign players, who tend to be younger compared to last season, have already helped Persib record a younger squad average. As of July 2, 2025, the average age of the Persib squad is 27.7 years. This age has decreased compared to the average of 28.1 years for the squad at the end of last season.

Marcilio is very enthusiastic about joining Persib. He is ambitious to continue his impressive record with a contribution of goals/assists reaching 11 goals in Liga 1 for the 2024-2025 season.

"Becoming a champion with Persib is my dream. Likewise, the team aims to perform better at the Asian level. I am highly motivated to achieve all of those accomplishments," said Marcilio in a statement on the club's website.

On the other hand, the two closest competitors of Persib during the last season, namely Dewa United and Persebaya Surabaya, did not undertake major overhauls. Nevertheless, minor changes in foreign players still took into account the rejuvenation of the squad.

Dewa, who is in second place, released two foreign center-backs, namely Risto Mitrevski (33) and Angelo Meneses (31). In order to maintain quality, the "Banten Warriors" successfully persuaded Kuipers to join.

The experience and champion mentality of Kuipers, which has been proven with Persib, is hoped by Dewa to strengthen the defense line alongside goalkeeper Sonny Stevens.

The average age of the Dewa squad has decreased compared to last season. They have players with an average age of 26.9 years, reflecting a rejuvenation compared to 27.4 years in the previous season.

With their current strength, Dewa is not only worthy of being one of the contenders for the Liga 1 championship. They also have a significant chance of competing for the Asian Challenge League title.

"Our target is to win every match and become champions at the end of the season. I am confident that all players share the same ambition. I believe Dewa United can achieve that," said Kuipers, who has been with Persib from 2019 to 2025.

Meanwhile, Persebaya has recruited two players who are already familiar with the competition in Liga 1. Mitrevski from Dewa and Gali Freitas, who played for the relegated team PSIS Semarang last season, are new hopes for the supporters.

Mitrevski's age is on par with last season's "Bajul Ijo" defender, Slavko Damjanovic (32). Freitas, who is 20 years younger than the main forward of Persebaya for the 2024-2025 edition, Flavio Silva (29). A debut foreign player in Indonesia, Milos Raickovic (31), will fill the position of Ze Valente (31), who has continued his career with the Liga 1 promotion team, PSIM Yogyakarta.

The transfer policy has also helped Persebaya record a decrease in the average age of the squad from 26.1 years to 25.8 years. Unlike Persib and Dewa, which are still coached by the same tactician, Persebaya will begin a new era with Eduardo Perez, the former goalkeeper coach of the Indonesian national team during Luis Milla's era.

The activity of foreign player transfers has also been showcased by Bali United. Together with their new coach from the Netherlands, Johnny Jansen, the "Serdadu Tridatu" has not extended the contracts of five foreign players, including four veteran foreign players: Adilson Maringa (goalkeeper/34), Elias Dolah (defender/32), Privat Mbarga (wing forward/33), and Everton (center forward/31).

As a replacement, Bali has recruited three foreign players, all aged 28. They are Mike Hauptmeijer (goalkeeper), Joao Ferrari (center-back), and Thijmen Goppel (wing midfielder). Of the three players, only Ferrari has previously played in Indonesia. The Brazilian defender represented PSIS during the 2024-2025 season.

The influx of new players will continue to emerge as the majority of teams have yet to complete their quota of eight foreign players. On the other hand, traditional teams, such as Persija Jakarta and PSM Makassar, are still in the process of finalizing contracts for new players.