Although It Is Not Clear When League 1 Rolls Again, Persija Prepares Four Replacement Players For Ryuji Utomo

Persija Jakarta center-back Ryuji Utomo (right), Persija club president Mohamad Prapanca (left) and agent Ryuji Gabriel Budi (right) posing at the Persija office (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Jakarta Persija Club has prepared four players to fill one place in the center-back position after Ryuji Utomo left on loan to Malaysian club, Penang FC until December 2021.

Quoted by Antara from Persija's official website, Thursday, December 3, the four players were Maman Abdurahman, Tony Sucipto and two young players, Al Hamra Hehanussa and Muhammad Ferrari.

Maman Abdurahman is the first choice to accompany main center-back Otavio Dutra.

Persija sees Maman's experience and calmness as important assets as Persija's stronghold.

Then, there is the versatile player name Tony Sucipto. Tony is able to fill all positions in the back line, be it defensive midfielder, center back and wing back.

In the 2019 Indonesian League season, the 34-year-old player made 34 appearances including as a center back.

Al Hamra Hehanussa, who is one of Persija's talented young footballers, is also considered capable of being the stronghold of the squad nicknamed the Kemayoran Tigers.

The younger brother of Persija's left-back Muhammad Rezaldi Hehanussa has filled Persija's senior squad since 2019.

Finally, the name of the 17 year old player Muhammad Ferrari is included in the candidate to replace Ryuji.

He is considered one of the most potential defenders in the team which saw him break into the first team in 2020.

However, these players still have to wait for the opportunity to play because there is no certainty when the Indonesian League 1 will roll back.

League 1 and 2 Indonesia are planned to resume starting February 2021 after 2020 implementation was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The competition season changed its name from the 2020 season to the 2020-2021 season. League 1 is projected to roll in February-July 2021, while Liga 2 is on