Bobotoh Jakarta

When it came to predicting which teams would have a significant impact on the 2010/11 Indonesian Super League season, many punters would have put forward Persib Bandung.

In many ways the Newcastle United of Indonesia, Persib has flattered to deceive for too many seasons. This year, surely, came the plaintive cry from the Sunda heartlands, has to be our year.

Not yet it’s not.

The season started ignominiously with new coach Darko Janackovic unceremoniously shown the door before a ball had been kicked in anger amid rumors of a players’ revolt.

His assistant, Jovo Cuckovic, was promoted to one of the hottest seats in Indonesian football and fans looked forward eagerly to a successful season on the field.

They had good reason to be confident. On paper they boast perhaps the strongest squad in the country. I

ndonesia’s push for glory at the Asean Football Federation Cup in December will rely heavily on players from Persib. And they boast some of the highest-profile foreigners in the ISL.

So where is it going wrong? Why has this expensively assembled team managed a meager one win from its opening six games? Why is Persib leaking goals alarmingly? Why is it struggling to create scoring opportunities?

Important questions that Cuckovic needs to answer as soon as possible. And national team coach Alfred Riedl will be asking the same questions before Indonesia plays Malaysia in its opening game at the AFF Cup in December.

Let’s start with the back line. Markus Haris Maulana has been Indonesia’s first-choice keeper for a couple of years now and has had central defenders Maman Abdurahman and Nova Arianto in front of him for club and country for a similar period of time.

Yet there are times when the trio play like strangers. Witness the goal Persiba Balikpapan scored at Siliwangi Stadium earlier in the season.

With Markus and Nova rooted to the spot, neither knowing what the other was doing, Aldo Baretto had a free header to claw back a goal for his team. It was an error that marred a rare good performance.

Eka Ramdani has been a big miss for Persib over the last couple of games and Riedl will be hoping the iconic midfielder will be fit in time for the AFF Cup.

Eka has a status similar to that of Steven Gerrard at Liverpool. When things aren’t going well you can always rely on Eka to help the team out.

Without Eka in the middle there is little creativity. Hariono is an excellent destroyer and has a vicious shot on him, but doesn’t get forward as much as Eka.

Much of Persib’s attacking threat in recent games has come down the flanks with Atep and Siswanto.

The league’s all-time leading scorer, Christian Gonzales, has only recently taken out Indonesian citizenship, but during Persib’s torrid start to the season he has managed just one goal.

Riedl had been hoping to build his team around Maman, Nova, Eka, Atep, Hariono and Gonzales, so their struggles will certainly be causing him sleepless nights.

He has less than a month to turn things around as Indonesia goes into the biennial tournament with expectations high.

source : jakarta globe