Michael Essien’s temper was on full display in a friendly defeat on Saturday when he was left fuming after a confrontation with an opponent.
The incident happened in Persib Bandung’s friendly loss against Bali United when United player Yabes Roni kicked a ball in Essien’s face.
The former Chelsea and AC Milan midfielder was clearly unhappy with what he perceived as a deliberate act and began chasing after Roni around the field.
The 34-year-old was eventually calmed down by his teammates and the match officials.
Even though Persib had the number advantage when Roni was dismissed, a late goal by Raphael Maitimo wasn’t enough to salvage anything for the Indonesian heavyweights.
Essien was introduced in the second half on Saturday and came close to scoring. His free kick deflected just wide of the goal early in the second period.
However, coach Djadjang Nurdjaman raised concerns about the player’s fitness level after the match.
He insisted that Essien needed more time on the training field in order to hit top form.
Essien is a new signing at Persib, having joined from Greek side Panathinaikos in March.
Former West Ham striker Carlton Cole, another high-profile signing of Persib Bandung was not registered to play in the match.