Marselino Ferdinan

Marselino Ferdinan Philipus (born 9 September 2004) is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for EFL Championship club Oxford United and the Indonesia national team.

Ferdinan started his senior career with Persebaya Surabaya in 2021, emerging through its youth system. During his first season he became a regular starter and won the Liga 1 Best Young Player Award and was named of as one of the 60 most talented and promising players by ''The Guardian'' in the same year. He joined Belgian side Deinze in February 2023. After one-year-and-a-half with Deinze, he joined Oxford United on a free transfer in 2024.

Ferdinan has represented Indonesia at various youth level, finishing third at the 2019 AFF U-15 Championship and winning a bronze medal at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games. He made his senior international debut in 2022, becoming the second youngest Indonesian debutant, and scored his first goal at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers becoming the nation's youngest goalscorer.

Club career

Persebaya Surabaya

Ferdinan broke into the senior team of Persebaya Surabaya in the 2021–22 Liga 1 season a few days after his 17th birthday, after two years in its youth system. On 12 September 2021, he made his Liga 1 match debut against Persikabo 1973 that ended in a 3–1 victory for Persebaya. On 6 November 2021, he scored his first league goal and saved his team from defeat in a 2–2 draw with rival Arema. On 4 December 2021, he scored the opening goal in the first half and recorded his first assist, to Taisei Marukawa, in Persebaya's 2–0 victory against Barito Putera at Manahan Stadium.

On 5 January 2022, Ferdinan provided another assist for Samsul Arif early in the first half, and scored in the second half of Persebaya's 3–1 win over Bali United. Nine days later, he was involved in Persebaya's 2–1 victory against PSM Makassar, scoring in the 55th minute. On 23 August, Ferdinan scored the only goal in a 1–0 home win against PSIS Semarang at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium and was named Man of the Match.

On 18 January 2023, Ferdinan scored a brace for the club in a 0–5 away win against Persita Tangerang.

Deinze

On 1 February 2023, Ferdinan officially joined Belgian First Division B club Deinze on a one-and-a-half-year contract. He made his Deinze debut against Jong Genk on 25 February, coming on as substitute for Jellert Van Landschoot in the 80th minute.

Ferdinan scored his first and only league goal for Deinze on 22 April 2023 against Virton in a 3–1 win.

Oxford United

On 19 August 2024, EFL Championship club Oxford United announced that Ferdinan had signed a two-year contract and had been assigned the number 28 jersey. On 11 January 2025, he debuted in the 2024–25 FA Cup match against Exeter City, coming on as a substitute at the 89th minute in a 1–3 loss.

On 3 May 2025, Marselino made his league debut, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute for his compatriot Ole Romeny against Swansea City, and becoming the first Indonesian-born player to appear in an English second-tier match.

International career

Youth

Ferdinan first represented Indonesia at the age of 14 when he debuted for the Indonesia U-17 team in a match against Vietnam U-17 in the 2019 AFF U-15 Championship. He scored his first international goal in his that ended in a 2–0 victory.

In October 2021, Ferdinan joined the Indonesia U23 team for friendlies against Tajikistan U-23 and Nepal U-23 during preparations in Tajikistan for the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification. On 26 October 2021, he debuted in an official U-23 international game as a substitute in a 2–3 loss against Australia U23 in the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification.

Ferdinan was part of the Indonesia U-23 team that won a bronze medal in the 2021 Southeast Asian Games. He scored two goals in the six matches that he played in that tournament. He was again called up for the under-23 national team for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, in which he scored two goals in the tournament and helped the team win the gold medal for the first time in 32 years.

Ferdinan was part of the Indonesia U-20 team that played in the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification. On 16 September 2022, he scored a brace against Hong Kong U-20. On 21 April 2024, Ferdinan scored a brace against Jordan U-23 in the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

Senior

In January 2022, Ferdinan was called up to the Indonesia national team for two friendly matches against Timor-Leste in Bali. He debuted on 27 January 2022 in the first match that ended in 4–1 victory for Indonesia. He became the second youngest Indonesian to play for the senior national team at the age of 17 years, 4 months, 18 days – followed by Ronaldo Kwateh who debuted in the same match.

On 14 June 2022, Ferdinan became the youngest goalscorer in the Indonesia senior team at the age of 17 years and 9 months, after scoring against Nepal in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification in a 7–0 victory.

Ferdinan was called up for his first AFF Championship tournament by Shin Tae-yong. He scored a goal against the Philippines in the 2022 AFF Championship group stage, which became a social media trend and caught the attention of the Brazilian Richarlison due to his similar goal celebration. Ferdinan was also awarded Young Player of the Tournament.

On 15 January 2024, Ferdinan scored the equalizing goal against Iraq in an eventual 1–3 loss in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stage. He became the youngest goalscorer in the tournament and the nation's all-time youngest scorer in the AFC Asian Cup. On 19 November 2024, Ferdinan scored a brace in a 2–0 victory against Saudi Arabia, which secured Indonesia's first ever victory against Saudi Arabia as well as in the third round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification. He was also named the man of the match.

Personal life

His traditional name based on the Ngada people's customs is Marselino Ferdinan Dhewa Kedhi. Ferdinan's mother comes from Surabaya, while his father comes from Ngada, East Nusa Tenggara. He spent his school years in Surabaya.

Ferdinan is the youngest child of four siblings. During the 2021–22 Liga 1 season, Oktafianus Fernando, his older brother, played for Persebaya Surabaya before Oktafianus left for PSIS Semarang the following season.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

International

:''Scores and results list Indonesia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Marselino goal.''

International senior goals

Honours

Indonesia U-16
* AFF U-16 Youth Championship third place: 2019

Indonesia U-23
* Southeast Asian Games gold medal: 2023; bronze medal: 2021

Individual
* Liga 1 Goal of the Month: November 2021, August 2022, January 2023
* Liga 1 Young Player of the Month: December 2021, January 2022, January 2023
* Liga 1 Best Young Player: 2021–22
* APPI Indonesian Football Award Best 11: 2021–22
* APPI Indonesian Football Award Best Young Footballer: 2021–22
* AFF Championship Young Player of the Tournament: 2022

Records
* Youngest player to score a goal for the Indonesia national team: 17 years 278 days (v Nepal, 14 June 2022)

References

External links

Profile
at the Oxford United F.C. website

Profile
at the Football Association of Indonesia

Marselino Ferdinan
at Liga Indonesia
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinan, Marselino
2004 births
Living people
Indonesian men's footballers
Footballers from Jakarta
Indonesia men's youth international footballers
Indonesia men's international footballers
Indonesian expatriate men's footballers
Liga 1 (Indonesia) players
Challenger Pro League players
English Football League players
Persebaya Surabaya players
K.M.S.K. Deinze players
Oxford United F.C. players
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Indonesian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Indonesian expatriate sportspeople in England
Men's association football midfielders
Competitors at the 2021 SEA Games
SEA Games bronze medalists for Indonesia
SEA Games medalists in football
Competitors at the 2023 SEA Games
SEA Games gold medalists for Indonesia
2023 AFC Asian Cup players
21st-century Indonesian sportsmen