Riko Simanjuntak (born 26 January 1992) is an Indonesian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
winger for
Liga 1 club
Persija Jakarta
Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'; abbreviated as Persija), is an Indonesian professional football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jakarta is one of the most suc ...
. Before he joined
Persija, he had changed clubs four times. He is sometimes called Ucok and is often a mainstay player for the team in Indonesian competitions.
Club career
PSMS Medan
In 2010-12, before he joined
PSMS Medan
Persatuan Sepakbola Medan dan Sekitarnya, commonly known as PSMS, is an Indonesian Association football, football club based in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. It is one of Indonesia's most successful clubs. They currently compete in Liga 2 (In ...
, Simanjuntak was an amateur futsal player in
Pematangsiantar
Pematangsiantar (sometimes written as Pematang Siantar, acronym PS or ''P. Siantar'', colloquially just Siantar), is an independent city in North Sumatra, Indonesia, surrounded by, but not part of, the Simalungun Regency, making Pematangsiantar a ...
,
North Sumatera
North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...
. He and his brother Johan Simanjuntak always played together in one team. Simanjuntak plays as a right flank, Johan as a left flank. Once, PSMS's Coach Suimin Diharja watched their futsal match together. Simanjuntak and Johan's speed, agility, and sharpness made the coach interested in recruiting him. Finally Simanjuntak and Johan joined PSMS and played for PSMS Medan who were then playing in the
Indonesia Super League
Liga 1 ( en, League 1), also known as BRI Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons with Bank Rakyat Indonesia, is the men's top professional football division of the Indonesian football league system. Administered by the PT Liga Indonesia Baru (), Liga 1 i ...
. This was Simanjuntak's first football club.
PS Bangka
After the chaotic league dualism, a year later, Simanjuntak did not get a League 1 team. He finally joined and played for
Liga 2 club
PS Bangka
PS Bangka (previously known as PS Timah Babel) was a football club based in Pangkal Pinang, Bangka-Belitung Islands, Indonesia. They play at Stadion Depati Amir.
History
PS Timah Babel established in 1970 and the 1970s era had debuted with 8 ...
. This is where he showed his abilities in the field. In the 18 games he played, Simanjuntak scored 7 goals.
Gresik United
In the 2015 season, Simanjuntak signed a year's contract with
Persegres Gresik United
Gresik United Football Club, commonly known as GUFC, is an Indonesian professional football club based in Gresik, East Java. They currently compete in Liga 2, after promotion from Liga 3. They are considered to be one of the relatively good foo ...
. He made his debut in a 0–1 away win against
Barito Putera on 11 April. He scored his first goal in a 2–1 home win against
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
, scoring after 45 minutes.
Semen Padang
In 2016 Simanjuntak signed with
Semen Padang
PT Semen Padang is the state-owned company that became oldest cement plant in Indonesia, having been founded in 1910.
The company owns the football club Semen Padang F.C., that competes in the Liga 2 (Indonesia).
History
PT Semen Padang ...
for the
Indonesia Soccer Championship A
Indonesia Soccer Championship A, also known as Torabika Soccer Championship presented by IM3 Ooredoo for sponsorship reasons, was a football competition that replaced the temporarily-suspended Indonesia Super League.
Persipura won the title on ...
. He made 66 league appearances and scored 4 goals for Semen Padang.
Persija Jakarta
In 2018, Simanjuntak signed a contract with Indonesian
Liga 1 club
Persija Jakarta
Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'; abbreviated as Persija), is an Indonesian professional football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jakarta is one of the most suc ...
. He made his debut on 23 March 2018 in a match against
Bhayangkara. On 8 June 2018, Simanjuntak scored his first goal for Persija against
TIRA-Persikabo
Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Kabupaten Bogor 1973, commonly known as Persikabo 1973, is an Indonesian professional football club based in Bogor Regency, West Java, that competes in Liga 1.
History
This club started from an initiative to part ...
in the 85th minute at the
Sultan Agung Stadium,
Bantul
Bantul is a town and district, and the capital of Bantul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The district (''kapanewon'') covers an area of and had a population of 64,360 at the 2020 Census. It is a bustling town about to the sout ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Club honors
;Persija Jakarta
*
Liga 1:
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
*
Indonesia President's Cup
The Piala Presiden (English: President's Cup) is an annual pre-season association football tournament held in Indonesia and organized by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI). It is participated by Liga 1 clubs. The inaugural tournament w ...
:
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
*
Menpora Cup:
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
Individual
*
Liga 1 Best Eleven:
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
*
ASEAN Football Federation
The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is an international governing body of association football in Southeast Asia. It consists of the federations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, ...
Best XI: 2019
*
AFC Cup
The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...
All-time XI: Wide midfielders
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simanjuntak, Riko
1992 births
Living people
Batak people
Indonesian footballers
People from Simalungun Regency
Sportspeople from North Sumatra
Indonesian Premier Division players
Liga 1 (Indonesia) players
PSMS Medan players
Persegres Gresik players
Gresik United players
Semen Padang F.C. players
Persija Jakarta players
Indonesia international footballers
Association football midfielders
21st-century Indonesian people