Regarding Simic Status At Persija, Sudirman: Decisions Are Management's Duty

JAKARTA - The Persija Jakarta coach could not give much comment on the continuation of the fate of the Croatian striker, Marko Simic in his team. The question arose when Simic was not included when the Kemayoran Tigers played the final match of the 2021/2022 Liga 1 against PSS Sleman in Bali on Thursday, April 31.

Related to this, Sudirman said that all authority lies with the management. Not on him.

"Explaining about it (Marko Simic's situation) is not my job. That's management's job," Sudirman said in a press conference after the match, quoted from the club's website.

The question about Simic's situation in the squad arises because lately the 34-year-old striker has often been excluded from the main squad when appearing on the field.

The last time Simic appeared to defend Persija was in the match against Persib on March 1, it was only 45 minutes.

After that match, in seven consecutive matches Simic never again appeared on the field. Of the seven records, five times the player only sat on the bench and the remaining two were not at all in the line-up list.

In fact, before this condition occurred, Simic was a player who had always been the focus of the team. He was never absent from the Persija squad even though he did not appear fully in his last 12 matches.

Although in recent matches his name has often been missing from the Kemayoran Tiger squad, Simic is still listed as the top scorer for the team in the 2021/2022 Liga 1 competition with 14 goals.

Simic has always been a mainstay of Persija since joining in 2018. The 34-year-old attacker has even helped Persija win the 2017/2018 Liga 1 and is listed as the most fertile player in the 2018/2019 League 1.