Persipura Signs Brazilian Machado as Head Coach, Surprising Many
Jakarta. Papua's Persipura Jayapura football club appointed Brazilian Wanderley Machado da Silva as its head coach after widespread speculation suggesting Dutchman Pieter Huistra would get the job.
Machado, a former coach of West Papua's Perseman Manokwari, will replace the outgoing Liestiadi Lo, who resigned on June 8.
"He has played and trained in Indonesia, so it will not be difficult [for him] to adapt to our squad. He'll working alongside manager Rudy Maswi in Jayapura," Persipura chairman Benhur Tomi Mano said on Tuesday (20/06).
Benhur expressed gratitude to club manager Rudy and football agent Gabriel Budi for their work in signing Machado, an A-licensed coach within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
"We've played a game without a head coach. Caretaker Mettu Dwaramuri is good, but we are bothered by a regulation that requires us to have an AFC A-licensed coach at least, so Mettu and another assistant Alan will help Wanderley to construct a cohesive team," he said.
Before landing in Indonesia, Machado coached Thai clubs Navy FC and Chiang Rai, as well as the Malaysian Kuala Lumpur FC.
Earlier rumors pointed to Huistra as the club's next coach, stemming from statements made by the club's senior management. The Dutchman is a former technical director at the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI).
Benhur revealed that the cost of signing Huistra was too great for the club to bear, so management decided to pursue signing Machado, a more affordable option, instead.
"Yesterday we had intended to sign a coach from the Netherlands, but the desired contract from that side was Rp 150 billion [$11 million], which is just too expensive," Benhur said.
"Persipura is currently short of funds, so we can only sign coaches within our budget."
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