Toni Firmansyah Closes To The U-23 Indonesian National Team, Persebaya Finds A Layer Figure

JAKARTA - Persebaya Surabaya's young player, Toni Firmansyah, is absent from defending the club to strengthen the U-23 Indonesian national team. Even though his position was vacant, Bajul Ijo was not worried because they had found the right coating player.

Toni's absence will be patched with the presence of a young 20-year-old player, Sadida Nugraha Putra. Sadida even got the opportunity to appear when Persebaya faced Bali United, Saturday, August 23, 2025.

Apart from Sadida, Eduardo Perez as Persebaya coach also gave playing minutes to another young talent, Dimas Wicaksono. The 18-year-old player came on to replace Francisco Rivera in injury time in the match.

This decision is a strong signal that Bajul Ijo is serious about providing space for academy players to develop. This was then welcomed by Persebaya captain Bruno Moreira.

He welcomed the presence of these young players positively. He assessed that the coach's move to give Sadida and Dimas playing minutes was very appropriate to add to their experience at the high level of competition. Moreover, Sadida is projected as a substitute for Toni who is absent due to state duties.

"Coachs give them (Sadida and Dimas) the opportunity to play to gain experience in the game. They are young players, but they have quality," said Bruno Moreira in a statement quoted on Thursday, August 28, 2025.

Bruno emphasized that he was not worried about regulations that required each team to deploy U-23 players. According to him, Persebaya has a lot of stock of quality young players, the results of fostered academies themselves.

He is even optimistic that Sadida and Dimas can follow in the footsteps of the successes of Toni Firmansyah and Mikael Alfredo Tata who spread their wings to the national age group team.

"They have quality. This is the most important thing, like Toni and Tata. We have a lot of quality young players and this is the most important thing for us."

"I'm sure the coaches will give them more opportunities. If they can, they should take advantage of this opportunity and give their best, as they have done so far, very well," said the Brazilian winger.

Persebaya memang melepaskan dua nama mainannya, Toni Firmansyah dan Mikael Alfredo Tata, ke Timnas Indonesia U-23. Keduanya masuk dalam squad tutuhan Gerard Vanenburg yang akan tampil di Grup J Kualifikasi Piala Asia U-23 2026.

At the event, the U-23 Indonesian national team will play three matches at the Gelora Delta Stadium, Sidoarjo. The Garuda Muda squad is scheduled to face Laos on September 3, 2025, Macau on September 6, 2025, and South Korea on September 9, 2025.