Bali United F.C.

Early years

Bali United's first major move was the appointment of Indra Sjafri as manager. Under the former Indonesia national under-19 head coach, the club focused on developing young talent, bringing several U-19 national team players into the top flight. The club made its debut in the 2015 Indonesia Super League, playing its first match on 4 April 2015, a 2–1 away loss to Perseru, with Lerby Eliandry scoring the team's first competitive goal. However, the season was discontinued after only two matches due to a conflict between the Indonesian government and PSSI, which ultimately led to a FIFA suspension of Indonesian football. Bali United completed their first full season in the 2016 Indonesia Soccer Championship A, a temporary league organized to replace the suspended Indonesia Super League. The club finished 12th out of 18 teams, a respectable result for a newly relocated and rebranded club. In 2017, during the inaugural season of Liga 1, Bali United struggled in their first two matches under head coach Hans-Peter Schaller, who was subsequently sacked. Widodo Cahyono Putro, former Indonesian national team player, took over and led the team to compete for the title. Bali United became the most productive team in the league but finished as runner-up, losing out to Bhayangkara due to head-to-head tiebreaker regulations. Following their domestic success, Bali United qualified for the AFC competitions for the first time in 2018. They made their AFC Champions League…