Curbing Persib Bandung's Dominance

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — 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 been the dominant force in 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 Febriasyah, have changed jerseys for the 2025-2026 season. In their place, 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.

The preparation period concluded with an international friendly match against Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday (2/8/2025) at the Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium, Bandung, West Java.

Furthermore, Persib will begin their official match campaign for the 2025-2026 competition by hosting Semen Padang in Bandung on Saturday (9/8/2025), as well as facing Manila Digger in the qualifying round of the Asian Champions League Two on Wednesday (13/8/2025) upcoming.

"The preparation period and friendly matches are very beneficial for our capital heading into the competition (Super League) and the Asian Champions League Two. Hopefully, we can reap positive impacts and achieve the best results this season," said Persib goalkeeper, Teja Paku Alam, in an official statement.

The main competitors of Persib come from two teams that finished below them last season, namely Dewa United, which occupies the second position, and Malut United in third place. Dewa aims to reduce the eight-point gap in the final standings of the 2024-2025 edition from Persib by forming a dream team.

The luxurious player composition from last season, featuring Egy Maulana Vikri, Ricky Kambuaya, Taisei Marukawa, Alex Martins, Jaja, and Alexis Messidoro, has been strengthened by the presence of new key players, such as Stefano Lilipaly, Privat Mbarga, Rafael Struick, and Nick Kuipers.

The arrival of Kuipers and Edo, who previously defended Persib, demonstrates Dewa's efforts to undermine the strength of their main rivals while hoping to harness the champion mentality that both players possess.

The ambition to become a champion is what drives Rafael to continue his career in Indonesia with Dewa. Rafael, a graduate of the ADO Den Haag Academy, did not have a good season with Brisbane Roar during the 2024-2025 season as he only played 10 times.

"I want to be a champion in the Indonesian League, that is the main thing. I also aspire to play as much as possible and help the team achieve its goals through goals and assists," said Rafael.

When Dewa acquired two players from Persib, Malut instead became a new career destination for four foreign legionnaires from Persib last season. They are Da Silva, Tyronne, Ciro, and Franca.

The foreign player enhances the strength of the team, which already includes quality players such as Yakob Sayuri, Yance Sayuri, Safrudin Tahar, Abduh Lestaluhu, Manahati Lestusen, and Alwi Slamet.

One factor that will influence the performance of Malut is the change of head coach. Unlike Persib and Dewa, which continue with their tacticians from last season, Malut has transferred the coaching baton from Imran Nahumarury to Hendri Susilo.

Despite undergoing a change in coaching staff, Malut asserts itself as the only team that believes in the capabilities of local coaches in the 2025-2026 Super League.

Hendri acknowledged that the responsibility in Maluku Utara is one of the heaviest burdens he has carried in his coaching career. However, he is optimistic about being able to deliver the best results for Maluku Utara.

"All teams are making squad changes. I am confident in our players' high quality, and I believe we may achieve greater success compared to last season," said Hendri.

The test for the capabilities of Dewa and Malut to compete against Persib will be presented directly in the first week. Both teams will meet at the Banten International Stadium, Serang, Banten, on Saturday (9/8/2025).

In addition to those three teams, three teams from the era of the Association, namely Persebaya Surabaya, Persija Jakarta, and PSM Makassar, also have ambitions to end Persib's dominance.

Persebaya and Persija have made changes to their coaching staff and have significantly revamped their squads. Meanwhile, PSM continues to adhere to the philosophy of Bernardo Tavares, which prioritizes young players and Portuguese-speaking foreign recruits.

Meanwhile, mid-table teams aim to avoid the relegation zone. Madura United and Persis Solo have also made changes in coaching and player composition to prevent a fall to the lower ranks as experienced last season.

Three promotional teams, such as PSIM, Bhayangkara Presisi Lampung, and Persijap Jepara, have also brought in new coaches with good experience to help them compete directly in Indonesia's top-tier competition.

PSIM has contracted Jean-Paul van Gastel from the Netherlands, Bhayangkara has rekindled a past romance with Paul Munster, and Persijap has brought in Mario Lemos from Portugal.

Unlike previous seasons when the trio of promoted teams had the lowest market value squads, the three teams from Liga 2 2024-2025 actually present squads with a total value exceeding Rp 50 billion. Their squads are more expensive compared to PSBS Biak, Arema FC, Madura, and Semen Padang.

Bhayangkara has a squad value of Rp 77.7 billion, while PSIM and Persijap each have squad values of Rp 74.9 billion and Rp 54.67 billion, respectively.