New Coach Persis Solo Ong Kim Swee Challenged To Feel Fanatism Supporter
JAKARTA - The new coach of Persis Solo from Malaysia, Ong Kim Swee, said that the fanaticism of Indonesian football supporters was one of the things that attracted him. He said the atmosphere of supporters in the country is clearly bigger than in Malaysia.
Ong Kim Swee has officially signed Persis Solo starting Monday, November 25, 2024. His decision to accept Laskar Samber's offer for life turned out to be because the coach also felt challenged by the team's character in Indonesia with his fanatical supporters.
"My experience in Indonesia or in Malaysia, or the national team, is that Indonesian supporters are more fanatical. For me, this is an advantage for each team."
"This will definitely help Persis if all supporters unite and provide motivation," said Ong Kim Swee on Persis Solo's official website quoted Tuesday, November 26, 2024.
"I believe in football, not only are there 11 players who determine glory, but supporters also play a very important role," he said again.
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Ong Kim Swee is not a new figure in the realm of Southeast Asian football. Previously, this 53-year-old man was a 20-year-old coach in Malaysian football and spent the last three years managing Sabah FC club.
In addition, Ong was also the Technical Director of the Malaysian National Team and took part in bringing the U-23 Tigers to the 2011 SEA Games gold medal.
Now, when he had the opportunity to pursue a career in Indonesia, Ong also expressed his views on how to deal with pressure.
According to him, in football pressure is commonplace, especially in terms of supporters who always want victory.
"In football, there is always pressure, whether you win or lose. So, the important thing is that I understand the supporters who want glory."
"This is certainly a priority. I have to accept the pressure where in football there are disappointing results, but that doesn't mean we will continue to be disappointed."
"Especially, we have to get up if we receive bad results," said Ong Kim Swee.
Ong Kim Swee's experience as a coach is now expected to boost Persis Solo's achievements in Liga 1 2024/2025.
The reason is, currently Laskar Samber's life is slumped in 16th place with a collection of seven points from 11 appearances.