Persib Bandung Proves Pragmatic Tactics Are Still Effective in the Indonesian League

Don’t just adopt an attacking and dominant style of play like teams in Europe if a team wants to chase the Indonesian League 1 title. This is proven by Persib Bandung which prioritizes results compared to beautiful football. Before Persib, PSM Makassar had already lifted the trophy thanks to their pragmatic style.

In the second final match of the BRI Liga 1 Indonesia Championship Series 2023-2024, Friday (31/5/2024), at the Gelora Bangkalan Stadium, Bangkalan Regency, East Java, Madura United entered again in the trap of Persib’s tactics. In order to overcome the three-goal deficit, Madura blocked Persib’s defense and dominated possession of the ball.

I apply tactics in accordance with the abilities of my players. Rather than wanting to dominate ball possession and play beautifully, we prioritize effective strategies to achieve victory.

Like a de javu, this tactic again cost Madura dearly because Persib were able to score three goals against them. A consolation goal through midfielder Slamet Nurcahyo’s penalty execution was not enough to stop “Maung Bandung” from winning 3-1 while at the same time asserting dominance with a 6-1 aggregate advantage. The 2023-2024 League 1 champion trophy was brought home to Bandung, West Java.

Also read: After winning, Persib Bandung holds Indonesia’s dignity in Asian competitions

In the two final matches, Madura tried to pressurize Persib. Playing at Persib’s home ground, Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung, West Java, “Laskar Sape Kerrab” recorded a 61% ball possession, which then jumped to 73% ball possession in Bangkalan.

However, they seem to forget that Persib’s strength under the control of the Croatian coach, Bojan Hodak, is a very effective positive transition. The six goals scored by David Da Silva and his friends were created when the match had passed the 60th minute. This means that Madura’s dominating game actually backfired due to the decline in the players’ physical condition in the middle of the second half.

Meanwhile, Persib made good use of the situation by consistently carrying out swift counterattacks. In the first 60 minutes of the match, most of Madura’s defenders and midfielders remained highly focused and in good physical condition, effectively containing the flow of rapid balls aimed towards two strikers, Da Silva and Ciro Alves. After one hour of play, Persib had more freedom to conquer Laskar Sape Kerrab’s defense.

“We have carried out simulations and prepared strategies to reduce the effectiveness of Persib’s positive transition. “However, their style of play is very difficult to anticipate,” said Madura United interim Coach Rakhmad Basuki after the second match of the 2023-2024 League 1 final.

Also read: Absolute Win in Madura, Persib Bandung Awarded Third Star

Persib coach Bojan Hodak admitted that he was more concerned with the end result than using up energy to serve Madura’s dominant ball control strategy. In order to match Madura’s game, Hodak focused more on anticipating the ball flow of Madurese players in the final third of their defense zone. In particular, Persib players did not give Madura playmaker Francsico Rivera the freedom to pass key passes to Madura’s attacking trident.

“I apply tactics according to the abilities of my players. Compared to wanting to dominate ball possession and play beautifully, we prioritize a strategy that is effective in achieving victory,” said Hodak.

He added, “Madura may have more control over the ball, but they did not have any dangerous opportunities, while we were able to pose a threat and make good use of our chances to score.”

In the two final matches, Persib managed to produce a total of 13 shots on target, while Madura only had six shots directed towards Persib’s goal. This shows that Persib has a better average shooting accuracy of 58 percent and 43 percent, respectively, despite having less ball possession with 39 percent in the first match and 27 percent in the second match.

Also read: Focused on Pursuing Victory, Persib Bandung Hasn’t Thought of Winning Yet

Decreased dramatically

If we refer to Persib’s performance in the championship series, Hodak really relies on goal creation from the positive transitions of his children. In the regular League 1 series this season, Persib’s counterattacks have resulted in 32 goals out of a total of 69 goals.

By relying on this positive transition, Maung Bandung put the ball possession game aside. They recorded an average of 48 percent ball possession in 34 matches in the regular series. This record dropped drastically to only 37 percent ball possession per match in the four games of the championship series.

Although their ball possession has greatly declined, Persib managed to get three wins and one draw in the championship determining round. This is different from the other three teams, namely Madura, Borneo FC, and Bali United, who all experienced defeats in the four matches.

The decrease in Maung Bandung’s ball possession percentage was due to their tactic of quickly passing the ball to the face of the opponent’s goal. According to Kompas‘s records, in the first match of the final, Persib only needed an average of eight seconds to open a shot after taking control of the ball from Madura.

Also read: Persib Bandung Squad Depth Key to Libas Madura United

As for the second game, Persib needed an average of 10 seconds after turnovers (seizing the ball) to produce a shot. This was realized for Persib’s first and second goals scored by Da Silva in the 60th minute and Marc Klok when the match lasted 86 minutes.

A collection of only 27 percent ball possession in Bangkalan is not unfamiliar to Persib. In the 15th week of this season’s League 1, Maung Bandung also recorded a similar percentage of ball possession and managed to bring home a 3-2 victory against Persebaya Surabaya at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Surabaya, East Java.

Then, Persib recorded the most goals in a single match this season, which was five goals, with only 38 percent ball possession. This was achieved when they defeated Persita Tangerang, 5-0, in week 14 and crushed Dewa United, 5-1, in week 20.

Not only facing teams that are interested in dominating the ball, Persib also achieved a 3-1 victory against bottom-placed team, Persikabo 1973, despite only having 33 percent ball possession. The match was held in the 29th week.

Also read: Bandung Celebrates Persib as Champion of the Indonesian Football League

Once again, even though ball control was very minimal. Persib is the most productive team in Liga 1 this season. They produce an average of 1.97 goals per game. That is also the reason they deserve to be champions. Apart from that, in the championship series, Maung Bandung only conceded two goals and recorded two clean sheets.

The way Persib became champions this season is almost similar to PSM’s tactic in the 2022-2023 Liga 1 edition. Despite only collecting an average of 36 percent ball possession, the lowest among the 18 Liga 1 contestants last season, “Juku Eja” scored the most points with 75 points from 34 matches.

PSM appeared very effective. They managed to become the third most productive team with a record of 63 goals. On the other hand, their defense is very strong as they only conceded 28 goals. That record is only surpassed by Persija, who conceded 27 goals.

After PSM, followed by Persib, it seems that the Indonesian League 1 is not friendly to attacking football. The trend of pragmatic football in pursuit of championship titles is also likely to be repeated in the BRI Liga 1 2024-2025, which will start on August 2, 2024.