PSM Makassar Lose 1-3 to Persib Bandung: Coach Darije Kalezic Criticizes GBLA Pitch

On Saturday evening, in the opening round of the 2026/2027 Super League, PSM Makassar suffered a 1-3 defeat against Persib Bandung at the Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium (GBLA). The home side's victory came not only from player quality but also from the harshness of the pitch. PSM head coach Darije Kalezic did not hide his frustration after the match, claiming that the quality of the pitch was an unfair factor that directly affected the visitors' style of play. According to television footage, the GBLA pitch was patchy, with many bare areas, causing the ball to bounce unpredictably. Kalezic said: 'Obviously playing on a pitch like this is unacceptable. We understand why the home team did not allow us to have a training session on the pitch before the match, but if the pitch is too poor, the match should not have been played here.' The Bosnian tactician admitted that his team did not have any official training session on the GBLA pitch before matchday. The lack of adaptation time to the poor pitch severely affected PSM's passing, ball control, and pressing rhythm. From the perspective of someone who has been through many transfers and followed hundreds of matches in Europe and Southeast Asia, I see a deeper issue: the pitch is the '12th man.' A substandard pitch changes the ball's trajectory, causing a team that relies on possession to lose its bearings. Persib, who regularly plays home games, will be more accustomed to unexpected ball bounces than a visiting team with just one adaptation session. The old 2026 paper still sits in my drawer – I never delete the history of mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes in Southeast Asian football is underestimating the role of pitch quality in deciding match outcomes. I have witnessed many teams lose matches due to poor pitches, but the flip side is that both teams have to play on the same surface. Persib's home advantage lies not only in the crowd but also in their familiarity with every bare patch of grass. Before talking about transfers, let's talk about time – a wrong clock can kill an entire deal. Here, the wrong clock is the match schedule: the organizers scheduled the match on a substandard pitch, despite warnings from the visiting team. I remember in 2026, when the pandemic was raging, I watched clubs in Serie A struggle with congested fixtures and deteriorating pitches. But in Europe, matches are often postponed if the referee or organizers deem the pitch unsafe. In the 2026/2027 Super League, this does not seem to be taken seriously. A broken deal teaches more than a successful one – and this defeat is a lesson in preparation, not just for PSM but also for the league organizers. The question is: if the match had been played on a standard pitch, would the result have been different? Perhaps, but football has no 'ifs.' What matters is that teams need a stronger voice in demanding fair playing conditions. I saw a player cry in a meeting room because of three months of unpaid wages – football is not just tactics. Here, PSM fans have the right to cry for a loss where their team had no chance to show their true strength. PSM's future this season depends on whether they can overcome the psychological shock of the first defeat. Darije Kalezic also needs to quickly find a solution for the defense, because if he only blames the pitch, the team will soon pay the price in the coming rounds.