Persema, an acronym for Persatuan Sepakbola Malang is an Indonesian football club based in Malang,

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern and so ...

. They currently compete in the Liga 3.

History

The club was officially established in 1953, with primary funding from Malang's municipal budget. It was part of the

Indonesian Super League Liga 1 ( en, League 1), also known as BRI Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons with Bank Rakyat Indonesia, is the men's top professional football division of the Indonesian football league system. Administered by the PT Liga Indonesia Baru (), Liga 1 ...

until January 2011 when they hosted LPI's inaugural match and stopped relying on public funds. The other local team,

Arema FC Arema Football Club is an Indonesian professional football club based in Malang, East Java. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top flight of Indonesian Football. They are considered one of the best and most successful football clubs in ...

, is one of the most successful clubs in ISL. The team's nickname is "Bledeg Biru" while its home stadium is

Gajayana Stadium Gajayana Stadium (Stadion Gajayana) is a multi-purpose stadium in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. Gajayana Stadium is the oldest stadium in Indonesia. This stadium began to become the center of the city in 1924 until 1926. Then in the early 1990s G ...

. Persema has never won a trophy during its years in the Indonesian Super League, mostly dwelling in the mid to bottom part of the table. The team was relegated into Indonesia's Division One (third-tier) in 2003. However, after two seasons, Persema bounced back to the second-tier league. Persema eventually gained promotion to the ISL in 2008 and stayed there until its 2011 shift to LPI. Persema is now popular as the club that first hired European-born naturalized players

Irfan Bachdim Irfan Haarys Bachdim (born 11 August 1988) is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Liga 1 club Persis Solo. Early life Irfan father, Noval, is an Indonesian national of Arab descent born ...

and Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan whose nominations to the

Indonesia national under-23 football team The Indonesia national under-23 football team (Indonesia: Tim Nasional Sepak Bola Indonesia U-23) is considered to be the feeder team for the Indonesia national football team, represents Indonesia at football in the Olympic Games, Asian Games an ...

in 2011 were cancelled by the

Football Association of Indonesia The Football Association of Indonesia ( id, Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia; 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930, fifteen years before ...

because they chose to play in the breakaway league. Its coach Timo Scheunemann is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

who was born and bred in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and has become a father figure in Indonesia for Bachdim and Kurniawan. His ability to speak

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesia ...

and Javanese makes him popular among local journalists.

Current squad

Notable former players

* Kim Kurniawan * Bima Sakti * Caue Benicio

References

External links

* Football clubs in Indonesia Football clubs in East Java 1953 establishments in Indonesia Association football clubs established in 1953 {{Indonesia-footyclub-stub