Having signed former Persebaya Surabaya and Persipura Jayapura head coach Angel Alfredo Vera as their new head coach for the upcoming 2022/23 Liga 1 Indonesia season, Persita Tangerang continued their pre-season preparations by clearing out their playing squad. Around 19 players were released from the club following the conclusion of their contracts, with a number of them already landing new clubs for the upcoming season.
The Pendekar Cisadane were quite silent with their pre-season preparations, with the extension of South Korean midfielder Bae Shin-young’s contract as well as Vera’s signing to replace the outgoing Widodo Cahyono Putro being the only things of note coming out of Persita.
Persita manager I Nyoman Suryanthara has confirmed to Viva.co.id and various other news outlets that the club has parted ways with 19 players from last season’s campaign, following the conclusion of their contracts. Among them were Brazilian duo Harrison Cardoso and Taylon Correa, as well as club captain Agung Prasetyo.
Other outgoing players include Irsyad Maulana, Kasim Botan, Dedi Gusmawan, Edo Febriansyah, Syaeful Anwar, Herwin Tri Saputra, Andre Agustiar, Obet Choiri, Taufiq Febrianto, Ricki Ariansyah, Kevin Gomes, Ade Jantra, Ahmad Nur Hardianto, Alta Ballah, Rendy Oscario, and Try Hamdani Goentara.
Among the players leaving Persita, a number of them have already been signed by other clubs for the upcoming season. Both Irsyad and Syaeful were recently unveiled by Arema FC, while Borneo FC managed to snap up both Agung and Ahmad. Obet, on the other hand, has returned to his parent club Sriwijaya FC down in the Liga 2, having been signed on loan by Persita after the conclusion of last season’s Indonesian second-tier league.
Meanwhile, both Dedi and Try were linked to a move to PSS Sleman, and Alta, son of Liberian international Anthony Jomah Ballah, is set to join Persebaya Surabaya’s youthful revolution.
Despite this massive exodus, Nyoman remains confident that Persita would remain competitive next season. This is down to the intense negotiations done with potential new players, with a number of them set to join the Pendekar Cisadane after the Eid al-Fitr holidays. These potential players were personally recommended by new head coach Vera, and they were deemed suitable for the Argentine’s tactics.
“We’re eager to announce our new signings as soon as possible, but we ask the fans to be patient. Selecting these players is a very important process for both the head coach and his coaching staff, and we at the management will not interfere in the process,” said Nyoman, as quoted from Viva.co.id.