Balikpapan: Borneo FC Samarinda of Indonesia will get their inaugural ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ campaign rolling when they host Singapore’s Lion City Sailors in Group B at Batakan Stadium on Thursday.
Borneo FC, founded in 2014, emerged as the regular season premiers in 2023/24 Liga 1 to qualify for the first edition of the Shopee Cup and will hope to leave a mark in what will be their maiden appearance in an international competition.
The Dolphins were in scintillating form in Indonesia last season, winning the premiership by finishing eight points clear of second-placed Persib Bandung, before a defeat to Madura United in the semi-finals of the championship series.
Dutch tactician Pieter Huistra’s side have continued their fine form at the start of the 2024/25 campaign, finishing runners-up in the Indonesia President’s Cup and making it two wins out of two matches in their fledgling Liga 1 campaign against Semen Padang and Arema FC.
Stefano Lilipaly wears the captain’s armband at Borneo and is still their most influential figure at the age of 34, while the club have also strengthened with the signings of Christophe Nduwarugira, Lucas Salinas, Leo Gaucho and Mariano Peralta despite losing last season’s top scorer Felipe Cadenazzi.
Meanwhile, Lion City Sailors FC are the only club representing Singapore in the maiden edition of the regional championship and after winning the Singapore Cup in 2023, they will be eager to mount a strong challenge in the Shopee Cup.
The 2021 Singapore Premier League champions, now managed by Serbian tactician Aleksandar Rankovic, are among the favourites for the league title again this season, winning nine of their 11 league matches so far, scoring 16 goals and conceding just once in their last three outings.
After a heavy defeat to Tampines Rovers, Sailors posted a 6-0 win against Young Lions before overcoming Hougang United and DPMM FC 7-1 and 3-0 respectively in the SPL.
Maxime Lestienne continues to be their leading light not just scoring goals for fun, but also creating chances aplenty for his teammates while the likes of Shawal Anuar and Lennart Thy have also been in fine form for the Sailors. However, they could be without their Dutch attacking midfielder Bart Ramselaar who is recovering from an injury.
Group B of the Shopee Cup also features Thailand’s Buriram United, Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur City FC, Công An Hà Nội FC of Vietnam and Kaya FC - Iloilo of the Philippines, with the top two sides having the chance to progress to the knockout stages of the competition.
Borneo FC Samarinda vs Lion City Sailors FC
Venue: Batakan Stadium, Balikpapan
Kick-off: August 22, 8:00 PM (Local Time)
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