Marselino Ferdinand Warmly Welcomed At Oxford United

Marselino Ferdinand joins Oxford United (doc. Oxford United).

JAKARTA - Oxford United coach, Des Buckingham, warmly welcomed the arrival of Marselino Ferdinand. He did not hesitate to praise the new player.

News of Marselino officially becoming part of Oxford United was announced by the club on Monday, August 19, 2024, WIB night. With Marselino joining Oxford, it means being Marcelino's second European club after joining KMSK Debze last year.

Before deciding to accept Marselino, the club went through a selection process. Buckingham as the coach admitted that he had watched the midfielder's profile video.

He didn't even hesitate to call Marselino a talented young player.

"Marselino is an interesting player. From the games we watched and the news about him from Asia shows that he is one of the best young players on the rise," Buckingham said on the club's official website.

"So, this is an opportunity to have it here and be a part of what we do," he said.

The England coach is also aware of the potential of Asian players through his experience in coaching Indian club Mumbai City.

In addition, Buckingham sees Marselino as a player he is looking for to complete the club.

"Marselino has a lot of attributes that we look for in a player and individual. We can see that he has a strong desire to thrive and take this opportunity," Buckingham said.

Despite Buckingham' remarks, Oxford United Football Operations Director Ed Waldron also received Marselino well.

"Marselino is a very promising young player. We are eager to see how he develops in our team. The club has close ties to Indonesia, we know Marselino's abilities."

"Although it has not been proven at this level, it is clear that Marselino is very talented with good international experience."

"It would be interesting to see how he adapts to life at Oxford United. We have a good environment at the training center."

"We feel this is the perfect opportunity for Marselino to test his abilities and develop with the experience we have," said Waldron.

Marselino is a potential young star who has succeeded in becoming the backbone of the Indonesian national team. The 19-year-old midfielder has 26 appearances and three goals for the Garuda Squad.

Last year, Marselino also took part in bringing Indonesia to win the 2023 SEA Games for the first time in 32 years.

The Persebaya Surabaya dropout also holds the record as the youngest goalscorer for the Indonesian national team in international events. He is also listed as the youngest goalscorer in Asian Cup history.

Marselino was also a key player for the U-23 Indonesian national team when he qualified for the semifinals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. He also led Indonesia to qualify for the 2024 Olympic playoffs despite losing to Guinea in Paris.

Meanwhile Oxford United has just been promoted to the 2024/2025 Championship. They won the promotional playoffs of League One 2023/2024 to accompany Portsmouth and Derby County to the league level.