Reasons For Persib Bandung To Choose Boyong Thom Haye: There Is An Influence Of Bojan Hodak

JAKARTA - The Super League club, Persib Bandung, officially recruited the Indonesian national team player, Thom Haye, who previously had status without a club. Regarding this decision, Maung Bandung has his own reasons.

Persib officially announced the recruitment of Thom Haye on Wednesday, August 27, 2025. Not alone, Haye is also landed with Italian player Federico Barba.

The decision to recruit Haye and Barba was revealed by the Deputy CEO of PT Persib Bandung Bermartabat, Adhitia Putra Herawan, as a strategic step for the club to maintain the balance of the squad in midfield.

Haye's presence complements the options that Bojan Hodak already has, such as Marc Klok, Dedi Kusnandar, Adam Alis, to a foreign midfielder from Argentina, Luciano Guaycochea.

"Wilujeng sumping Thom Haye. Persib welcomes you with enthusiasm and breaks into a new adventure in the Super League and AFC Champions League 2."

"We believe the quality and experience will be an important addition to Persib's ambition," Adhitia was quoted as saying on the Persib website on Thursday, August 28, 2025.

Through the club's website, Persib also revealed the reason for recruiting Thom Haye because it was a recommendation from Maung Bandung coach, Bojan Hodak.

"Recommendations come directly from the head coach, Bojan Hodak, who thinks Haye has a game character that suits the team's needs."

"The monitoring has been carried out since the player strengthened the Indonesian National Team and through his long track record at the Eredivisie."

"The figure of Haye is known as a tough defensive midfielder, intelligent in reading the game, and good at maintaining the rhythm in midfield, a quality that makes him trusted to defend the Dutch National Team from U-15 to U-21 before finally choosing to dress up for Garuda," Persib wrote.

Not only that, the team nicknamed the Blue Prince also assessed that Thom Haye had a mature professional career. He made his senior debut with AZ Alkmaar in 2012, then strengthened Willem II Tilburg (2016-2018), ADO Den Hague (2019-2020), NAC Breda (2020-2022), Heerenveen (2022-2024), until finally with Almere City in the 2024/2025 season.

"More than a decade he has consistently played at the highest level of Eredivisie, making him one of the midfielders with complete international experience."

"With this background, Haye comes not only as an additional technical force, but also as a symbol of Persib's ambition to compete at the domestic and Asian levels."

"This recruitment also reinforces management's commitment to providing maximum support to the team and coaches, ensuring that each line is filled with quality players who are able to answer competition challenges," Persib continued.