JAYAPURA, PAPUA – The appointment of a new head coach is certainly part of the preparation of Yustinus Pae and friends towards the kick-off of the League relegation play-off round 2 season 2023/2024 and while the play-off round kick-off will soon be rolled out using a home and away system and meaning, there are six matches that each team must play. Persipura joined in group D with Persekat Tegal, Kalteng Putra and PSCS Cilacap.
Persipura Jayapura will start the League 2 play-off round for the 2023/2024 season by playing the inaugural match to host Persekat Tegal at Mandala Jayapura Stadium. The opening match will be Ricardo Salampessy’s debut receiving a proposal from Persipura management after recently successfully qualifying the Papuan men’s soccer team for the 2024 Aceh-Sumatra National Sports Week.
In the Persipura coaching ranks, Ricardo Salampessy will be accompanied by two assistant coaches namely:
- Ridwan Bauw,
- Izaac Wanggai.
Both have concocted the Black Pearl team to complete the remaining four matches in the second round of the League 2 this season. Based on the decision of PT Liga Indonesia Baru as the competition operator, 16 teams will play the relegation play-offs this season which are divided into 4 groups, Persipura will play 6 matches in group D with details of 3 home games and 3 away games.
Previously, Abisai Rollo, Persipura manager, admitted that the Black Pearl team had to go through an uphill struggle because to survive in League 2 next season, only the top two teams and the other two teams were confirmed to be relegated to League 3. Support and prayers from all Papuans who love Persipura according to Abisai Rollo are needed so that the team survives next season.
The Persipura manager, who is also the chairman of the Jayapura City Regional People’s Representative Council, said everything was at stake for Persipura to exist in domestic football competitions, so he was sure the Black Pearl team would fight it out to win one of the two quotas available in group D.
According to coach Ridwan Bauw, the players have been released for five days in the context of the Christmas holiday and starting December 28, 2023 Persipura players reassemble to undergo the preparation process again and next January 6 has started competing.
Ricardo Salampessy is not a new face at Persipura, he is a living legend of Persipura who is now again entrusted with handling this big club and for several years defending the Black Pearl team in the Indonesian League 1 competition with a score of three titles until the 2022/2023 season then Ricardo chose to “hang shoes”.
Born on February 18, 1984, he defends the Persipura club and he plays as a right-back with Persipura or in the Indonesian National team, before joining Persipura in 2006, Ricardo Salampessy started his career at Persiwa Wamena after playing for the Papua National Sports Week team in 2004 and he is part of the golden generation of Papuan football.
In the Indonesian National team, the player from Ambon made his debut in 2005 at the SEA Games in Manila, seven years defending Persipura at the end of the 2013 season had moved to Persebaya and two years later in the 2016 season Ricardo Salampessy rejoined Persipura and continued to stay with the Black Pearl team that had raised his name before finally stepping aside from the green field to become a soccer coach.