Manila Youth Team Tests Persib Bandung in Asian Champions League

BANDUNG, KOMPAS – Persib Bandung will face the Manila Diggers of the Philippines in the playoffs of the Asian Champions League Two at Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium in West Java on Wednesday (May 13, 2025). Persib is wary of the threat posed by the opposing team's young players.

The match of the team nicknamed "Pangeran Biru" against Manila Digger will be held at the Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium (GBLA) on Wednesday at 19:00 WIB. This match serves as a qualifier to determine whether they advance to the group stage of the main round of the AFC Champions League Two.

Persib appeared with a strength of 16 new players. Of these, 9 are foreign players predominantly from Brazil and Argentina. Familiar faces, such as Ciro Alves, Nick Kuipers, and David da Silva, have left Persib.

Persib Bandung coach Bojan Hodak, who was met after conducting a training session with his team at GBLA Stadium on Tuesday (12/8/2025), acknowledged that the match against Manila Digger will not be easy. Moreover, Persib has just completed a match in the Indonesian Super League three days prior.

He has also watched several matches of Manila Digger. Bojan has instructed his players to be wary of the young players from Manila Digger.

The Manila Digger team players are a combination of local Filipino players and many foreign players, particularly from Africa. The team has a total of around 23-24 players, consisting of 11-12 local players and 12 foreign players.

Manila Digger is known as a team with an average player age of around 27 years and often employs a 4-2-3-1 formation. This team occupies the second position in the 2024-2025 Philippine League.

"Tomorrow will be a challenging match for us. However, we are playing at home, and that is an advantage. The important thing is that we must not make any mistakes, no matter how small," said Bojan.

Regarding the condition of the players, Bojan mentioned that several members of his team have not fully recovered from injuries. They include, for instance, Ramon Tangue and Alfeandra Dewangga. Dewa and Raymond have not participated in all of the team's training sessions.

"We'll assess their latest condition ahead of the match. What's clear is that whoever plays must be 100 percent ready," he said.

Bojan also added that Persib's preparations this season are much more mature compared to the previous season. Meanwhile, the captain of Persib, Marc Klok, expressed that the players are highly motivated ahead of the match against Manila Digger.

He referred to this match as the beginning of a significant journey for Persib in the Asian arena. "Our target is clear, which is to advance to the group stage and perform better than last season. We are very enthusiastic and ready to give our best," said Klok.

The Bandung Police Chief, Commissioner Budi Sartono, stated that his team deployed a total of 1,998 joint personnel to secure the match between Persib Bandung and Manila Digger on Wednesday night. The security personnel will be stationed at several strategic points with tight security measures.

"Thousands of personnel will secure the area from outside the stadium, the stadium entrance to the spectator stands," he said.