Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Singapore: Persija Jakarta and their Croatian striker Marko Simic have enjoyed a memorable AFC Cup so far. Both know a new challenge arises with the Knockout Stage beginning on Tuesday against Home United.
Indonesia's Persija Jakarta have already broken a series of records in this year's AFC Cup - twice setting attendance records in the Group Stages - but the milestone that the club would most like to achieve is becoming the first Indonesian side to lift the continental title.
To do so, they will need to overcome several hurdles, the first of which being Singapore's Home United in the ASEAN Zone semi-finals with the first leg coming at Jalan Besar Stadium on Tuesday, before the return meeting on May 15.
The-AFC.com spoke to Persija's top scorer in the tournament, Marko Simic, to get his thoughts on the tie as well as his experiences of the competition so far.

https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/simic_fans.html

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Singapore: Indonesian giants Persija Jakarta booked their spot in the 2018 AFC Cup ASEAN Zonal semi-finals with a comprehensive 4-2 win over Tampines Rovers on Tuesday.
The visitors were in control of the match throughout the 90 minutes and scored four goals in a game for the third time this campaign as they made it four wins from six in one of the competition's most hard-fought groups.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Kuala Lumpur: The ever-growing appeal of the AFC Cup was underlined on Tuesday when the competition recorded its highest-ever match attendance as a record 60,157 fans witnessed Indonesia side Persija Jakarta’s impressive 4-0 victory over Johor Darul Ta'zim from Malaysia at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta.
AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said the attendance for the ASEAN Zone Group H match was reflective of the continued improvements undertaken to enhance the prestige and standards of the competition.
Dato’ Windsor said: “The AFC, as envisaged in our Vision and Mission, is committed to improving the quality of our competitions for our players, fans and teams. This objective is reflected in this season’s AFC Cup with a record-breaking 44 clubs competing for the highest-ever prize money in the history of the competition.
“This record demonstrates the ever-increasing interest and wide appeal of the AFC’s competitions. I congratulate Persija Jakarta and I would also like to thank all our clubs and Member Associations for their commitment to improve the AFC Cup.
“It is particularly impressive this milestone was achieved in the group stages of the AFC Cup and I am confident, as we work closely with our Member Associations, we will continue to witness even more thrilling matches, which will engage and excite more passionate fans as the competition progresses into the knockout stages.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Jakarta: The 2018 AFC Cup Group H tie between Indonesia’s Persija Jakarta and Tampines Rovers from Singapore attracted 49,056 spectators at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, a record high in the AFC Cup Group Stage.
The home side fans enjoyed a spectacular victory and had much to celebrate as Persija claimed a comprehensive 4-1 win over the visitors, courtesy of Marko Simic’s hat-trick and a thunderbolt from Rezaldi Hehanusa.
The match on Wednesday ranks third overall in terms of AFC Cup spectatorship history and is just shy of the Kingfisher East Bengal and Kuwait SC semi-final in 2013 which saw 50,000 spectators attend.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Jakarta: A rapid-fire hat-trick from Marko Simic inside the opening 20 minutes helped Persija Jakarta to a comfortable 4-0 win over Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim in their AFC Cup clash at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Tuesday.
The Indonesian side was powered on by a raucous crowd of over 60,000 – the largest ever crowd for an AFC Cup match – and used the energy of the crowd to blitz the visitors in the opening half.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Jakarta: Croatian forward Marko Simic was in dominant form as he scored all the goals in Persija Jakarta's 4-0 thrashing of former AFC Cup champions Johor Darul Ta'zim in Group H's Matchday Five tie.
Persija went into the Group H game at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium level on points with their opponents and having lost 3-0 in the first meeting in Johor Baru. However, a stunning hat-trick within the game's opening 19 minutes from Simic ensured the match was effectively over before the midway point of the first half.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Jakarta: AFC Cup fever is gripping Indonesia after more than 49,000 spectators turned up at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium to see Persija Jakarta claim their first ever win in the competition following a stunning 4-1 victory over Singapore’s Tampines Rovers last Wednesday.
With expectation now high that Persija can reach the knockout stage, the-AFC.com caught up with club legend Bambang Pamungkas to find out the striker’s views on his side's chances in the continental competition.