Decoding SLNA's Indonesian opponent at AFC Cup 2018

In this group, Persija Jakarta FC just had a 4-1 victory over Tampines Rovers. In which, a familiar V.League player, former striker who played for Binh Duong, Dong Thap and Long An clubs - Marko Simic was the one who scored a hat-trick. Thanks to that victory, Persija Jakarta temporarily rose to 3rd place in Group H of the AFC Cup with 3 points, behind Johor Darul Ta'zim (3 points) and SLNA (6 points).

In Persija Jakarta's squad, there are only 2 Indonesian national team players, but the Nghe An team's opponent has 1 Brazilian defender, 1 Nepal national team midfielder and 1 other foreign striker, Marko Simic.

Marko Sicmic is the most notable player on Persija Jakarta's side. Photo: AFC

The two national players are goalkeeper Andritany Ardhiyasa (26 years old) is the second choice of the Indonesian national team. The presence of this goalkeeper in the goal has helped Persija Jakarta become the team with the strongest defense in the Indonesian National Championship (Liga 1 - 2017) with only 24 goals conceded after 34 rounds, thereby ranking 4th overall.

In the big win over Tampines Rover, coach Cugurra Rodrigues of Persija Jakarta deployed a 4-3-1-2 formation. The highest up front were Marko Simic and Brazilian foreign player Adisson. Supporting this pair of strikers was RamdhaniLestaluhu – an Indonesian midfielder who scored 8 goals in the domestic league last season.

Goalkeeper Andritany Ardhiyasa is currently a player of the Indonesian national team. Photo: Internet

The remaining midfield trio of Persija Jakarta are RohitChand (foreign player from Nepal), Sandi and Riko Simanjuntak. However, the defense with the presence of Brazilian foreign player Jaimerson Silva (number 5) is the most notable face. This 28-year-old player, 1m83 tall, played for many years in the Brazilian National Championship and one year in the Portuguese National Championship.

Overall, this is a team that is on par with the Nghe An team, unlike Johor DT (Malaysia) because the number of foreign players is only 4, 1 from Nepal, 1 from Croatia and 2 from Brazil. Marko Simic is no stranger to the SLNA defense and this striker once scored against SLNA in 2016 while playing for Long An.

In the past, the successful team of Indonesian football, the champion of the 2017 National Cup of Indonesia, had won the domestic championship 9 times. However, the last time this team was crowned Liga Indonesia was in 1979.

Persija Jakarta's domestic players do not have many stars, but this is a team with a physical playing style, and in any case, playing with only 1 foreign player, Michael Olaha, is a disadvantage for SLNA./.

V.League 2018 schedule: SLNA "breathes easy"

(Baonghean.vn) - The V-League 2018 Organizing Committee has just announced the match schedule for the season. Looking at the match schedule, those who know the team's inside story think that coach Duc Thang and his team have it "easy".