Still Needed Against Arema, Persebaya Hasn't Released Toni Firmansyah to the U-20 National Team

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Persebaya Surabaya coach, Paul Munster, emphasized that he still needs Toni Firmansyah's services to face Arema FC so he has not released him to the Indonesian U-20 National Team.

The Persebaya match against Arema will be held at the I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Bali on March 27

“I need all the players to face Arema FC, including Toni because his role is very vital at the moment and he continues to show good development,” said Munster in a statement in Surabaya on Tuesday (19/3/2024).

Even though Munster always encourages all of its players, he admitted that Toni's development was very positive compared to the others.

“Toni continues to develop and show progress. Meanwhile, several other players' performance has actually declined. Therefore, Toni is currently the main competitor in the team,” he explained.

Munster also expressed their dissatisfaction with the team composition in the previous match.

“Even though it's possible that Toni will come in starting eleven, but it is still not 100% certain. We continue to train and things can still change. “I want players who really want to play to show their abilities to me and the coaching staff,” added the coach who has also managed Bhayangkara FC.

Apart from that, the former figure who was once the technical director at the Brunei Football Federation also highlighted the competition between his team's goalkeepers because Ernando Ari was starting to recover.

“Competition between goalkeepers is getting tighter, especially after Andika's good performance in the last match. So, there is healthy competition between Andika and Ernando. I don't like it when teams only have one option in a position, so this competition is a positive thing,” explained Munster.

Munster also stated that this competition is not only good for the team, but also for the individual development of players because they will continue to compete to improve the quality of their game.

“We have healthy competition in the goalkeeping position and I am demanding clean sheets from them. “With Ernando's return, the competition is getting tougher, so he has to show his best performance,” said Munster.

According to data from PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB), Persebaya Surabaya is statistically superior to Arema FC with a record of six wins, one draw and three defeats since 2018.

In the Indonesian League 1 standings, Persebaya is in 12th position with a total of 36 points from 29 matches, while Arema FC is in 16th place with a total of 31 points from 29 matches.