Denis Kolinger has continued his football career by signing for Indonesian club Persija Jakarta. The former captain and experienced defender of Lokomotiva Zagreb left Lokomotiva back in July and has now found a new working environment in Asia.
Zagreb-based Lokomotiva allowed Kolinger to leave without any transfer fee, a move made as a sign of appreciation for his past contributions. During his time at the club, Kolinger played a total of 211 matches, leaving a deep mark in the shirt with the locomotive on the chest.
Before finalising the deal with Jakarta, Kolinger was close to moving to an Austrian club. However, the choice fell on Persija Jakarta, also known by the nickname Kamayoranski Tigers. In the ranks of this club, Kolinger will find himself in the company of players he already knew from before.
Persija Jakarta’s coach is Shin Taeyong from South Korea, and the club has meanwhile undergone intensive preparations. The team stayed in Bangkok, Thailand, for two weeks of training before returning home.
The club recently participated in the President Cup, a friendly tournament where over 40,000 spectators were present at the stadium. Persija Jakarta has also brought in several foreign reinforcements from the former Yugoslavia, among whom Stjepan Lončar stands out.
Lončar, a periodic Bosnia and Herzegovina international, is the biggest star and the most expensive signing in the club’s history. He arrived from Istria 1961, making the squad even stronger for the upcoming season.
The Indonesian league begins on 5 September, and Persija Jakarta plays in a region home to over 37 million inhabitants. This represents a significant step in Kolinger’s career, as he enters one of the most popular football leagues in the region.
