Former Adelaide United striker Sergio van Dijk has officially joined Persib Bandung under a two-year contract after obtaining Indonesian citizenship
ormer Adelaide United striker Sergio van Dijk has officially joined Persib Bandung under a two-year contract after obtaining Indonesian citizenship.
“Sergio is officially part of our team. He will wear jersey number 10. He is the last player we recruited at the beginning of this season,” Persib Bandung manager Umuh Muhtar said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.
Persib had long eyed the striker before van Dijk agreed to switch his citizenship from Dutch to Indonesian. He obtained his new citizenship on Monday and will soon join Persib’s front-liners Herman Dzumafo, Kenji Adachihara and Airlangga Sucipto.
“I signed the contract for two years, but it may be extended to three or four years. Maybe Persib will be my last club,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.
Van Dijk started his professional career at LTC club in Assen, the Netherlands, before joining the Groningen soccer academy. He moved to Helmond Sport in 2002.
Three years later, he was hired by Emmen club before moving to Australia to join the Brisbane Roar. He joined Adelaide United in 2010.
During his career in the Australian League, van Dijk earned a place in the spotlight for the 50 goals he made for his club, making him the third top scorer after Shane Smeltz (Perth Glory, 65 goals) and Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory, 50 goals).
Persib coach Jajang Nurjaman applauded van Dijk’s entry into his team and expected him to adapt and cooperate with fellow players for the upcoming Indonesia Super League (ISL) 2013 season.
He said he believed van Dijk would find no difficulties in adapting to other players.
“I hope he will give his best performance to help Persib reach the target of winning the ISL 2013 season,” he added.
Persib will play Persisam Samarinda from East Kalimantan, in an away match later this week. The club will depart for Samarinda on Wednesday. — JP
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