Persija Jakarta have made a statement of intent in their preparations for the upcoming Liga 1 Indonesia season on Saturday. The Macan Kemayoran announced the signing of former Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Doll, with the German set to take charge of Persija for the 2022/23 season.
Doll came to Persija with an excellent pedigree in European football at his disposal. The 56-year old has plenty of experience to his name, working alongside the likes of Rafael van der Vaart, Nigel de Jong, Naohiro Takahara, Mats Hummels, Alexander Frei, and Mladen Petric to name a few. He has also led Hamburg SV to the UEFA Champions League in the 2005/06 Bundesliga season, took Borussia Dortmund to the 2007/08 DFB Pokal final, and pretty much won every major domestic title in Hungary with Fenrecvaros during his 5-year stay there.
Having last worked in management with Cyprus giants APOEL Nicosia in the 2019/20 campaign, Persija will present themselves as Doll’s newest challenge. The Macan Kemayoran are only Doll’s second foray outside of Europe, following a brief spell at Saudi Arabian titans Al-Hilal back in 2011/12.
Other than serving as Persija’s new head coach, Doll will also act as the club’s team manager, succeeding club legend Bambang Pamungkas who was released from his role at the conclusion of the 2021/22 season.
Doll’s appointment was met by sheer excitement from Persija’s loyal Jakmania supporters’ group, who felt that Doll’s experience in European football would surely help the club bounce back from a disappointing 2021/22 campaign and etch themselves as favorites for the upcoming season – especially considering both Persija’s own star-studded squad and the movements that their rivals have been doing in the off-season transfer market.