After spending the entirety of his coaching career -- spanning over two decades -- in his homeland, Malaysian coach Ong Kim Swee has embarked on a new overseas adventure after being announced as the new man at the helm of Indonesia's Persis Solo on Tuesday.
The confirmation of Ong's new role comes less than a week after he revealed he would not be renewing his contract with Malaysia Super League outfit Sabah, with his former charges sending him off on a high with a 4-0 win over PT Athletic in the Malaysia Cup at the weekend.
"I see this as an opportunity with a club that has sufficiently high goals, where I will now play my role together with Persis to ensure all parties have the same objective," Ong said on the club's official website.
"That objective is to ensure Persis is in a good position. My main goal is to ensure we perform better moving forward."
Ong certainly has plenty of work on his hands with Persis, who only returned to the top flight in 2022 after a 14-year absence, currently occupying the third and final relegation berth in Liga 1 -- although the campaign is only 11 games old.
Ong, whose first coaching stint was all the way back in 2004 with hometown club Malacca (now Melaka United), was best known for his time in the Malaysia national team setup.
He led the Under-23s to a gold medal at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, took charge of the senior side at the 2016 ASEAN Championship, and also had a spell as technical director.
In the past two years, he led Sabah to back-to-back third place finishes on the domestic front -- their best results in the Super League era.
Ong, who is known for his ability to nurture young talent, will have plenty of bright prospects to work with at Persis, including 21-year-old Indonesia striker Ramadhan Santana -- who has already scored five senior goals for Indonesia -- and Arkhan Kaka, a 17-year-old named by The Guardian as one of the best players in the world in his age group.
Nonetheless, since his time at Sabah, Ong has moved away from solely focusing on youth development and stressed a need for similar balance at Persis.
"I'm aware of the fact that Persis have many young players and this is an advantage," he added.
"But to compete at the highest level of competition, we must have a combination of senior players and young players," he explained.
"It is important for us to have a game style and to find a balance in every position.
"I will see the previous patterns and, with the training sessions to follow and the [level of] quality that we have, then think about our game plan.
"I will need to get to know all the players because it is important for me to recognise who they are both on and off the field."
No stranger to the fanatical nature of Indonesian football supporters, who share a strong rivalry with their Malaysian counterparts whenever they meet, Ong called on the Persis faithful to play their part in getting the team back on track.
"Based on my experience when in Indonesia, Malaysia or in national team [meetings], Indonesian supporters are more fanatical," he shared. "For me, this is an advantage for any team.
"It will definitely help Persis if all the supporters unite and provide us with motivation.
"I believe, in football, it is not only the 11 players who determine success but also the supporters, who play an important role."
Ong's first game at the helm will come next Tuesday when Persis entertain Barito Putera to kick off a busy December, where he could potentially be without Arkhan and Zanadin Fariz after they were included in Indonesia's preliminary squad for the ASEAN Championship.