An Indonesian club may have been absent from the AFC Champions League Elite proper since 2011, but interest from the archipelago remains strong this season — thanks to three Indonesian players taking part in the 2025/26 group stage.
Buriram United’s Shayne Pattynama and Sandy Walsh played their part in a crucial 2-1 victory over Southeast Asian rivals Johor Darul Ta’zim on September 16. Pattynama started and impressed at wing-back across the full 90 minutes, while Walsh came off the bench in the 60th minute to help shore up the Thunder Castles’ defense, picking up a late yellow card but helping seal a potentially vital result at the Chang Arena.
Earlier on the same day, Melbourne City’s Mathew Baker — who has Batak heritage through his North Sumatran mother — was named as an unused substitute in his side’s 2-0 home defeat to Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima. A standout in City’s U-18 squad, Baker has been edging closer to senior football under Aurelio Vidmar and is expected to gain valuable experience throughout the club’s continental campaign, even if first-team minutes don’t come immediately.
Arema Indonesia remain the last Indonesian club to have reached the group stages of Asia’s premier club competition back in 2011. Since then, league champions such as Persib Bandung, Bali United, and Persija Jakarta have all fallen short in the qualifiers — making the presence of Pattynama, Walsh, and Baker a source of pride for Indonesian fans eagerly following the ACLE this season.