Persibo Bojonegoro

Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Bojonegoro (English: Bojonegoro Indonesian Football Union) commonly known and abbreviated as Persibo, is an Indonesian football club in Bojonegoro, East Java. They set to compete in the Liga 2 from 2024–25, the second tier of Indonesian football after promotion from Liga 3 in 2023–24. In 2010, Persibo played in the Indonesia Super League (the top tier Indonesian football league) after winning Divisi Utama (Second Tier division) previous season. In 2012, Persibo won Piala Indonesia (Indonesian FA Cup) after defeating Semen Padang in the final and represented Indonesia in 2013 AFC Cup.

History

Established on 12 March 1949, on the initiative of Raden Tumenggung Sukardi who served as Regent of Bojonegoro at that time. Once inactive in 1960, the team starting to compete once again in the Indonesian footballing pyramid during the new millennium in 2000, where the team's best achievement was crowned as champions of Divisi Dua Liga Indonesia in the 2003–04 season and promoted to Divisi Satu Liga Indonesia. After only two seasons in the league, in the 2007–08 season, the club once again emerged as Divisi Satu Liga Indonesia champions and earned promotion, this time to the Divisi Utama.

In their first season in the second tier of Indonesian football, the team nicknamed Laskar Angling Dharma made a big surprise in the Copa Indonesia tournament, after they caused some upsets by defeating three teams from Indonesia's top-flight, namely Arema Indonesia, Persik Kediri, and Pelita Jaya to advance to the last eight of the prestigious tournament which brought together teams across three divisions. At the same time, the national football public was shocked and began to reckon with them, in doing so dubbed the team as The Giant Killer.

Persibo managed to win 2009-10 Liga Joss Indonesia after defeating Deltras FC in the final match, thus successfully qualifying for the 2011 Indonesian Super League with Deltras FC as runner-up and Semen Padang FC who won third place. After playing several matches at Indonesia Super League, precisely at the end of December 2010 Persibo decided to cross over to the Premier League which at that time was a breakaway league thus the club was sanctioned which meant that Persibo Bojonegoro was banned from participating in any PSSI activities and had to be thrown into Divisi Satu Liga Indonesia the following season. However, Persibo's membership status was restored along with Persema Malang, Persebaya Surabaya and PSM Makassar by the PSSI Executive Committee (Exco) in the third Exco meeting on Monday, 15 August 2011 at the PSSI Senayan Office Jakarta.

The lifting of these sanctions gave a way for Persibo to take part in the assistance of the PSSI professional league for the 2011–12 season and compete with clubs from Indonesian Super League and Divisi Satu Liga Indonesia to professionalize. From the results of this assistance, Persibo was registered as one of the 24 clubs entitled to compete at level 1 of the Indonesian pro league which was later named Indonesian Premier League or Liga Prima Indonesia. In the 2011–12 season, Persibo was among 13 teams taking part in the Indonesian Premier League, which at the time is the highest tier in Indonesian football.

In 2012, Persibo became the champions of Piala Indonesia after defeating Semen Padang FC in the final. That result gave them the right to take part in the next season AFC Cup. Unfortunately the following season, the club would become a mere punching bag in the group containing the likes of Sun Hei SC of Hong Kong, New Radiant SC of Maldives, Yangon United FC of Myanmar; collecting just a single point from 5 matches and allowing 39 goals in the process. On top of that, the club were in the middle of a severe financial crisis which ultimately led to their demise and eventual relegation to the lowest tier of Indonesian football at the time, Liga Nusantara.

For several years after relegation to Liga Nusantara (which would later rebranded as Liga 3), the club was simply inactive due to several things, partly for financial reason and being banned by PSSI for breaking away from the official competition during the 2011 schism in the federation (commonly referred to as Dualisme, Dualism). Their membership status was finally restored in PSSI Extraordinary Congress 2017, which granted them a spot to compete in the Regional phase of 2017–18 Liga 3 East Java Region.

In 2023–24 after several years spell in the third tier, Persibo secured promotion to Liga 2 for the first time in more than a decade from next season after finishing as top 3 teams in their group of 8th round National phase Liga 3. They progressed as far as the National phase final, where in said final, they were beaten by the eventual league champions Adhyaksa Farmel F.C..

Staff & coaching

Manager history

• Jamrawi (2001–03)
• Sanusi Rahman (2003–06)
• Hanafi (2006)
• Gusnul Yakin (2006–08)
• Sartono Anwar (2008–10)
• Paulo Camargo (2011–2012)
• Gusnul Yakin (2013)
• Bambang Pramudji (2014–2017)
• I Putu Gede (2017)
• Jordi Kartiko (2018)
• Muhammad Nadhief (2019–2020)
• M. Fahrudin (2021)
• Masdra Nurriza (2022)
• Adnan Mahing (2023)
• Iwan Setiawan (2023–2024)
• I Putu Gede (2024–)

Players

Current squad

As of 30 April 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Former foreign players

AFC

• Kim Harrys
• Adam Harrys
• Li Zhixing
• Stanley Bernard
• Kim Kang-hyun
• Han Ji-ho
• Mekan Nasyrow

CONMEBOL

• Gustavo Ortiz
• Julio Alcorsé
• Marcelo Cirelli
• Carlos Eduardo
• Jairon Feliciano
• Lexe
• Victor da Silva

CAF

• Eugène Dadi
• Amos Marah
• Abel Cielo Quioh
• Alexander Robinson
• Joseph Amoah
• Morris Bayour Power
• Perry Kollie
• Varney Pas Boakay

Honours

Domestic

League

• Liga Indonesia Premier Division
  • Winners (1): 2009-10
• Liga Indonesia First Division
  • Winners (1): 2007
• Liga Indonesia Second Division
  • Winners: 2004
• Liga 3
  • Runners-up: 2023–24
• Liga 3 East Java
  • Winners: 2023–24

Cups

• Piala Indonesia
  • Winners: 2012
• Community Shield
  • Runners-up: 2013

AFC (Asian competitions)

• AFC Cup
  • 2013 – Group stage

Supporters

Persibo Bojonegoro have always enjoyed loyal and passionate support. Most fans come from Bojonegoro and the surrounding area, around western part of East Java. They called themselves as Boromania or Bojonegoro Mania. In the past, they had a bitter rivalry with the supporters club of Persela Lamongan, LA Mania. Interestingly however, Boromania have a very good relationship with the two largest groups of supporters in East Java who shared a long history of hostility towards one another, namely Bonek of Persebaya Surabaya and Aremania of Arema FC.

References

External links

• Official site
• Liga Indonesia Official site
• Profile at national-football-teams.com
• Profile at goal.com
• Liga Primer
• Persibo Bojonegoro on Instagram