The President's Cup preseason tournament has become the initial proving ground for Persija Jakarta's six new foreign recruits. In two trial matches against Persebaya Surabaya and Port FC at the end of last July, coach Shin Tae-yong immediately fielded these new players to test their readiness ahead of the new season's competition.
Of the six foreign players, the central defender duo of Denis Kolinger and Radovan Pankov showed promising consistency. Both were trusted to start from the opening minutes in those two preseason matches, marshaling the Kemayoran Tigers' defense quite solidly.
Meanwhile, attacking midfielder Stjepan Loncar has begun to show a significant contribution. After starting on the bench in the first match, he was immediately named a starter in the second game and successfully contributed one goal and one assist against Port FC. As for the other three players, namely Kerim Memija, Kyohei Yoshino, and Kwon Chang-hoon, they came on as second-half substitutes to boost the team's attacking power.
Persija Jakarta coach, Shin Tae-yong, appreciated the hard work and rapid adaptation of his players. Nonetheless, the South Korean tactician admitted that the teamwork and physical fitness levels of his squad have not yet reached their peak, as the preparation period has only been underway for two weeks.
Responding to his performance, Stjepan Loncar chose to remain down-to-earth and focus on the process of improving his physical condition. He is optimistic that with the increasing intensity of collective training, the Kemayoran Tigers' collective performance will continue to improve gradually ahead of the official competition.
