Persija Jakarta winger Riko Simanjuntak has advised Marko Simic to be on his best behavior as the Croatian striker made his return to the Macan Kemayoran for the 2023/24 Liga 1 Indonesia campaign.
Once a cult figure within the Persija faithful, Simic left a bitter taste in the mouth of many Persija supporters after he had departed the club underneath farcical circumstances, with Simic accusing Persija of not paying one year’s worth of his wages during the COVID-19-affected 2021/22 campaign.
The manner of Simic’s exit and the fact that he was severely underperforming when called upon during his final months in Persija angered the Jakmania fanbase, with a good chunk of them rejecting the Croat’s return to the club. They also cited Simic’s two sexual harassment allegations – against famous singer Via Vallen in 2018 and against a female passenger on a flight to Australia in 2019 – as further reasons on why the striker should never don a Persija jersey ever again.
Former Semen Padang man Riko had other thoughts, however.
With him and Simic forming a devastating partnership during the latter’s first stint at Persija, Riko eagerly welcomed Simic’s return to the Macan Kemayoran, clearly looking forward in reigniting said partnership in the upcoming season.
“I’m happy to see Simic back. Because he would not take long to adapt to Indonesian football, he gave everything that he could here,” said Riko in a meet-and-greet event at the annual Pekan Raya Jakarta event on Thursday, “With the arrival of Simic, hopefully he can make the contribution Persija expects. It can even help us more. Because, we need foreign players on the front lines.”
Riko also advises Simic to be on his best behavior and contribute more than he did during his first stint, should he wish to win the trust of the Jakmania once again.
“If you say you’re surprised Simic is back, not really. Because Simic and I kept in touch even though he had left Persija,” said Riko, “I told him he had to prove more than before in the hope that the fans would support him again.”
Riko, alongside his teammates Hanif Sjahbandi, Rio Fahmi, Muhammad Ferrari and Aji Kusuma, were at Pekan Raya Jakarta on Thursday as part of a meet-and-greet event held by Persija’s long-time sponsors Indofood, where the players would interact and play games together with the Jakmania who came to the event.