Hardworking Japanese midfielder Kei Hirose made his return to Indonesian football this week, having signed for Borneo FC after spending two years at Malaysian giants Johor Darul Ta’zim. It is hoped that Hirose’s presence would shore up the Pesut Etam midfield ahead of the second half of the 2021/22 Liga 1 Indonesia season.
First arriving on Indonesian shores from Maltese side Mosta in 2019, Hirose played in all 34 of Persela Lamongan’s Liga 1 matches that season, working tirelessly in the Laskar Joko Tingkir‘s engine room. Despite not scoring that many goals, Hirose’s pace, hard work, tenacity, and superhuman endurance gained him the respect and admiration of Persela fans everywhere, earning him the nickname “the man with three lungs” as well as leaving his mark as one of the Indonesian top-flight’s best Japanese imports.
Hirose’s impressive performances week in week out for Persela inevitably attracted the attention of bigger fishes, and it was JDT who managed to snag him for the 2020 season. The Malaysian giants immediately snapped Hirose away from Persela once his contract with the East Java-based club ran out at the end of the 2019 season, and although he didn’t make any appearances for JDT’s first team in the Liga Super Malaysia, he did become an integral part of the Southern Tigers’ reserve team playing in the Liga Premier Malaysia.
Together with JDT II, Hirose made 28 appearances throughout two seasons with the Southern Tigers’ reserves, scoring two goals in the process.
After the conclusion of the 2021 Malaysian football season, Hirose decided to make his return to Indonesian football, this time with the Pesut Etam of Borneo FC.
“Welcome, Kei Hirose, to Borneo FC. We hope that Hirose’s signing would elevate Borneo FC into becoming not only the best club in Indonesia but also Asia,” said Borneo president Nabil Husein as quoted from Antara and Suara.
Borneo’s success in landing one of the best Japanese talents playing in the Southeast Asian leagues was mostly due to the involvement of Daniel Zii, a software entrepreneur and influencer who has been sponsoring the Pesut Etam this season.
Zii, better known as “Mr. Cuanisasi,” signed a special agreement with Borneo that sees him fulfill any need that Hirose might ask while under contract at the club.
“This is my form of support towards the club so that Borneo FC could move forward even further and become champions. I hope Hirose’s presence would add more to our club’s performance,” said Daniel, as quoted from Antara.
Hirose’s arrival meant that one of Borneo’s four established foreign players would have to leave, and the person departing the club was Tajik international Nuriddin Davronov. The midfielder made 15 league appearances for Borneo throughout the first half of the 2021/22 season, having spent 2020 away on loan at FC Istiklol in his homeland.