PETALING JAYA: Croatian coach Bojan Hodak (pic) has stepped down as head coach of Persib Bandung following the club’s historic third straight Indonesian Super League title but will remain as a technical adviser to the club’s shareholders.
The 55-year-old Hodak had earlier announced he would be taking a break from coaching, just days after Persib confirmed the championship.
The former Kelantan, Johor Darul Ta’zim and Kuala Lumpur coach said that this season’s triumph was the toughest of the three league titles he has won with Persib.
“This year was much more difficult because in the first two seasons we had more or less the same team,” said Hodak.
“This year we completely changed the squad. We had 23 new players out of 31, so naturally they needed time to gel and understand each other.
“It was much tougher than the first two years. Persija and Borneo also had much stronger teams, and Borneo finished second with 79 points.
“I think it has never happened before for a team to finish second with so many points. Even for us, although we won the league three times in a row, this season we collected far more points than in the previous two years.”
Hodak also spoke about his son, Luka Jordy Hodak, who recently received a call-up to the national Under-19 squad.
He said he was proud of the achievement but stressed that his son must earn his place on merit.
“Of course, you feel proud when your child is called up to the national team, but he still needs to prove himself,” said Hodak, whose son was born in Malaysia.
“For me, I do not want anyone to look at him differently. He is just one of the players there.
“If he is good enough, he will be in the team. If he is not good enough, then he will not be in the team. I do not want anybody pushing him or giving him privileges because he is my son.”
Hodak added that the national call-up would be a valuable learning experience for Luka, who is still developing physically.
“He is a little late in development and still smaller in size. He is also one year younger than the other boys in the Under-19 squad, so this will be a great experience for his future.”
