Bali United and Borneo FC: Two Playing Styles, One September Day – Perspective from Week Two of BRI Super League

On the snapshots from Jepara stadium, there was a moment Juan Cortes didn't say out loud – he stood by the touchline, arms crossed, watching Thijmen Goppel control the ball on the right wing as if counting his team's heartbeats. That moment was in the 89th minute. One minute later, the ball lay in Persijap's net for the fourth time that evening. Cortes said nothing. He simply walked down the tunnel, leaving behind a question no one dared to ask loudly: Is his team building a wall, or just filling cracks with sand? Bali United started the 2026-2027 BRI Super League season with a 4-1 victory over Persijap at Jepara, while Borneo FC Samarinda claimed all three points with a 1-0 win at the same opponent's ground. This result created an interesting paradox that analysts only recognize when placing both matches side by side: Persijap – described as "Isenmulang" in some documents – faced two completely different opponents in the same matchday, leading to two significantly different outcomes. The night before the match at Jepara, I received a message from a friend working in Persijap's media department. He wrote briefly: "The situation isn't good. They just changed their playing style after Cortes arrived, but the squad remains the same." A remark I kept in the corner of my notebook throughout the trip. Because in football, how a team changes is always more important than what they change. Bali United under their current coach is no longer a team that only concentrates ball into opponents' penalty area in traditional style. They built their play around a foreign axis – and the match against Persijap showed this most clearly. Thijmen Goppel, the Dutch winger with distinctive playing style, scored two goals, including one in the 90th minute. Earlier, Japanese midfielder Teppei Yachida opened the scoring early, and Indonesian national team winger Irfan Jaya confirmed the 3-0 score before Douglas Cruz of Persijap scored an honorary goal in the 90+6th minute. When I re-analyzed the passing map of the match (based on detailed descriptive sources), a notable point emerged: Bali United's four goals came from four different phases of the match – the 35th minute, just before halftime, early in the second half, and the 90th minute. This is not a burst scoring model but a sign of continuous chance creation throughout 90 minutes. In other words, the coaching staff's team doesn't wait for the perfect moment – they create those moments anytime. Thijmen Goppel became the center of attention not only because of his brace but also because of how he moved in the penalty area. In modern football, a winger scoring goals is no longer unusual, but how Goppel read opposing defenders' positions in the 90th minute is worth discussing. Most attacking players lose focus in the final minutes, especially when their team leads by two or three goals. But Goppel still made runs into the penalty area as if playing the first minute. This is a small detail that coaches often overlook, but in the context of a 34-match season, it's the factor that distinguishes a good player from an excellent one. However, the 4-1 victory also left a gap in Bali United's defensive system. The goal conceded in the 90+6th minute – after the referee added nearly a minute of stoppage time – shows the team has a concentration problem in the final minutes. This isn't the first time an Indonesian team has made this mistake, but for Bali United – aiming to compete for the championship – it's something that needs immediate fixing. Moving to the second match of the day, Borneo FC Samarinda came to Jepara with a completely different philosophy. Instead of trying to impose their playing style, the team chose an approach that Juan Cortes – Persijap's head coach – described after the match: "Quality in every position, able to press high, play aggressively, and have dangerous players in counterattacks as well as in the final third." Cortes's words have value as a rare public admission from a coach about an opponent. In football, coaches rarely praise opponents in such detail unless they are genuinely impressed. And Borneo FC showed why within the first three minutes. Rodrigo Varanda – the Brazilian forward – scored the match's only goal just 180 seconds after the opening whistle. This is the "score early, preserve the result" model – a philosophy many young teams in Southeast Asia are adopting when they don't have enough personnel to control the ball for the full 90 minutes. After that goal, Borneo FC didn't try to attack for more. They dropped back, organized their defense, and waited for counterattack opportunities. The moment Varanda scored in the 3rd minute, I remembered a quote from veteran Korean coach Choi Kang-hee told me at a seminar in Bangkok: "In football, the most important moment isn't when you score, but the 87 minutes after." Borneo FC survived those 87 minutes remarkably. No second goal, no clear chances created, but more importantly – no conceded goals accepted. This is the tactics of a team that knows its limits. They didn't try to become better at ball possession – something Persijap might have done better than them. Instead, they played to their strengths: counterattack speed, high pressing, and defensive discipline. The difference in approach between Bali United and Borneo FC reflects two coaching schools existing in modern Indonesian football. Bali United with possession control philosophy, continuous chance creation, and dependence on foreign players in the attacking line. Borneo FC with counterattack philosophy, disciplined defending, and willingness to sacrifice possession time for results. But more notably is how Persijap – the home team in both matches – reacted to these two philosophies. Against Bali United, they lost heavily 1-4 with a disorganized defensive display. Against Borneo FC, they failed to score despite playing the full 90 minutes. Juan Cortes, described as having changed Persijap's playing style since arriving, is facing a much bigger challenge than just changing lineups or tactics. I had the opportunity to observe Cortes during a Persijap training session early in the season, when my media department friend introduced me as a journalist from London. He spoke English with a characteristic Spanish accent, mixed with some Indonesian football terms he had learned in his first three months. "I need time," he told me in that brief conversation. "But time is something football never gives anyone." Indeed, after the first two matchdays, Persijap sits in a position no one expected. Not because they played terribly – but because they are in a transition phase, a phase any team must go through when changing coaches and playing philosophy. One detail I noticed in both matches: both Bali United and Borneo FC scored through foreign players. Goppel (Netherlands), Yachida (Japan), Varanda (Brazil) – these are familiar names in Indonesian football, but also reflect a reality many experts have pointed out: dependence on foreign players in the opponent's penalty area is becoming a tactical structure, no longer an exception. There's nothing wrong with this in modern football. But it raises questions about sustainable development of domestic football. When a team can win the championship just by recruiting high-quality foreign players, what is the motivation to develop local youth players? This is a question I've raised in many articles about Southeast Asian football, and it still doesn't have a satisfactory answer. Returning to what happened at Jepara stadium. The match between Bali United and Persijap ended 4-1, while the match between Borneo FC and Persijap ended 1-0. The paradox here: Persijap was the opponent in both matches, but two completely different results. This can be explained by the difference in approach of the two teams – one wanted to express themselves, one wanted results – but may also reflect a deeper problem about Persijap's squad depth. In football, there's a principle I always apply in analysis: don't blame the result, find who was left behind after the goal. After Bali United's 4-1 victory, the one left behind was probably Persijap's right-back – who had to face Goppel for all 90 minutes. After Varanda's 3rd-minute goal, the one left behind might have been Persijap's central midfielder – who lost his position from the start and never regained the match rhythm. But more importantly, after both matches, Juan Cortes faced a decision: continue building according to the philosophy he believes in, or adapt to the reality of the current squad? This is a question no coach wants to answer publicly, because the answer may determine their career at the club. In the following week, Bali United will face a more highly-rated opponent – possibly Persib Bandung or PSM Makassar, depending on the official schedule. This will be a real test of their possession control philosophy, because both these opponents have much better-organized defenses than Persijap. And when facing such teams, depending on Goppel for two out of four goals can become a tactical weakness that opponents will exploit. Borneo FC, conversely, has an easier schedule in the coming rounds. If they maintain the "score early, disciplined defense" model, they can certainly climb the standings steadily. But the big question remains: can they maintain this form when facing stronger teams, teams that may not create counterattack opportunities for them? In years of following Southeast Asian football, I've witnessed many teams start a season with impressive victories only to collapse in the middle of the season. Borneo FC may be an exception, but could also be the rule. Only time will tell. Juan Cortes, in the press conference after the 0-1 loss to Borneo FC, said something I think will define Persijap's season: "We didn't lose because we were inferior to the opponent. We lost because we haven't learned how to win when the opponent doesn't give us opportunities." This is a rare admission from a coach about what's happening in their team. And it shows that he understands the problem better than anyone. I left Jepara the next morning, carrying a nearly full notebook and a familiar feeling – the feeling I always have after each trip following a team in transition. In London, I'll sit at my desk, review the notes, and try to find the real story behind the numbers. Because in football, numbers are just the starting point. The real story always lies in moments no one speaks aloud – moments when a coach stands by the touchline, arms crossed, wondering if they're building a wall or just filling cracks. The 2026-2027 BRI Super League has just begun. The remaining 32 matchdays will give us answers about Bali United, about Borneo FC, and about Persijap. But one thing is clear after the first two matchdays: Indonesian football is becoming more diverse in tactics, but there's still much work to be done for teams to compete at the highest level in Asia. And perhaps, that's the biggest story we should tell.