Ryuji Utomo

Ryuji Utomo

Personal information
Full name	Ryuji Utomo Prabowo
Date of birth	(1995-07-01) 1 July 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Jakarta, Indonesia
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [1]
Position(s)	Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Persita Tangerang (on loan from Bali United)
Number	4
Youth career
2005–2011	ASIOP Apacinti
2011–2012	Deportivo Indonesia
2013–2014	Persib Bandung
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2015	Mitra Kukar	0	(0)
2015–2016	Al-Najma	16	(1)
2016	Arema	11	(1)
2017–2022	Persija Jakarta	36	(2)
2017–2018	→ PTT Rayong (loan)	18	(0)
2021	→ Penang (loan)	15	(0)
2023–	Bali United	13	(0)
2024–	→ Persita Tangerang (loan)	2	(0)
International career
2011–2014	Indonesia U19	10	(1)
2017–2018	Indonesia U23	3	(0)
2017–2021	Indonesia	3	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Indonesia Southeast Asian Games 2017 Kuala Lumpur Team AFF Championship Runner-up 2020 Singapore Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 September 2024

Ryuji Utomo Prabowo (born 1 July 1995) is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays for Liga 1 club Persita Tangerang, on loan from Bali United. He plays mainly at centre-back but can also operate as a defensive midfielder. ^[2]

Club career

Al Najma

After training at youth clubs in Indonesia, Ryuji made his professional debut in Bahrain with Manama club Al-Najma in a 20 August 2015 friendly match against Malkiya Club. In this match, Ryuji was a starter who played 60 minutes before he was replaced. During this match, he received a yellow card in the fifth minute after a foul in the penalty area. ^[3]

Ryuji on 19 December 2015 scored his first goal for Al Najma in an away match against Al Tadamun Buri. ^[4]

Arema FC

After six months in Bahrain, Ryuji returned to Indonesia to join Arema ahead of the unauthorized 2016 Indonesia Soccer Championship (ISC). As an apprentice to Arema's more senior players, Ryuji began to build his reputation as a physically robust defender who caught the attention of richer clubs at the end of the ISC. During a pre-season tournament ahead of the launching of the new Liga 1 (Indonesia) top-flight competition, Ryuji left Arema after failing to win a starting position. ^{[5] [6]}

Persija Jakarta

Rich club Persija Jakarta saw Ryuji's Arema departure as a chance to develop the young defender's potential. On 3 February 2017, Ryuji accepted an offer to join his hometown club. Another reason was Ryuji wanted to play close to his Jakarta-based ailing father. Ryuji played in nine matches for Persija in the 2017 Liga 1 season, impressing coach Stefano Cugurra who used him when senior players were on international duty. ^{[7] [8]}

Despite its intention to keep Ryuji for the 2018 season, Persija let Ryuji play in Thailand on loan for a year. This spell increased Ryuji's value, leading to a renewed contract in 2019 to guarantee his services. However, Ryuji went overseas again on loan from December 2020 as a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic that stopped the 2020 Liga 1 season. Without certainty on when professional football in Indonesia could resume, Ryuji chose to take an offer to play for the newly promoted Malaysia Super League club Penang for one full season. ^[9]

PTT Rayong (loan)

On 4 December 2017, Ryuji joined Thai League 2 club PTT Rayong on a one-year contract. His agent said one of the reasons that made Ryuji take the offer was the pay could help him finance his ailing father's medical treatment, indicating that Persija did not pay him as satisfactory. At Rayong, Ryuji developed into a more versatile player as coach Teerasak Po-on often played the center back as a defensive midfielder. Ryuji played in 18 matches for Rayong and helped the club win the 2018 Thai League 2 season, earning it a promotion into Thai League 1. ^{[10] [11]}

Penang FC (loan)

Ryuji in December 2020 signed for Penang to play in the 2021 Malaysia Super League season, on loan from Persija Jakarta. ^[12] On 6 March 2021, Ryuji made his debut for Penang on a league game against Kuala Lumpur City, playing full 90-minutes as his team won 1-0. ^[13]

Bali United

On 13 January 2023, Ryuji signed a contract with Liga 1 club Bali United from Persija Jakarta. ^[14] Ryuji made his league debut for the club in a 2–2 draw against PSM Makassar, coming on as a substituted Ilija Spasojević. ^[15]

International career

Ryuji has always played for Indonesia on the international level despite eligibility to play for Japan, where his mother comes from. Ryuji was part of the Indonesia national under-23 football team that won bronze in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. After playing 13 times for the Indonesian national youth teams, Ryuji made his international debut for the senior team on 21 March 2017, against Myanmar. ^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 September 2024

Club	Season	League			Cup [lower-alpha 1]		Continental [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Mitra Kukar	2015	Indonesia Super League	0	0	0	0	–		0	0	0	0
Arema	2016	ISC A	11	1	0	0	–		0	0	11	1
Persija Jakarta	2017	Liga 1	9	0	0	0	–		0	0	9	0
	2019	Liga 1	19	2	6	2	6	0	3 [lower-alpha 4]	1	34	5
	2020	Liga 1	2	0	0	0	–		0	0	2	0
	2021–22	Liga 1	3	0	0	0	–		0	0	3	0
	2022–23	Liga 1	3	0	0	0	–		1	0	4	0
	Total		36	2	6	2	6	0	4	1	52	5
PTT Rayong (loan)	2018	Thai League 2	18	0	2	0	–		0	0	20	0
Penang (loan)	2021	Malaysia Super League	15	0	0	0	–		3 [lower-alpha 5]	0	18	0
Bali United	2022–23	Liga 1	8	0	0	0	–		0	0	8	0
	2023–24	Liga 1	5	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
Persita Tangerang (loan)	2024–25	Liga 1	2	0	0	0	–		0	0	2	0
Career total			95	3	8	2	7	0	7	1	117	6

1. Includes Piala Indonesia, Thai FA Cup
2. Appearances in AFC Cup
3. Appearances in AFC Champions League
4. Appearances in Indonesia President's Cup
5. Appearances in Malaysia Cup

International

As of match played 9 December 2021

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Indonesia	2017	1	0
	2021	2	0
Total		3	0

Personal life

Ryuji was born to an Indonesian father and a Japanese mother. His father, who died on 1 September 2020, motivated him to pursue his football dreams. Several of Ryuji's career decisions were shaped by his father's health conditions. ^[17]

Ryuji is married to sports television presenter Shabrina Ayu, making them be seen as a celebrity couple in Indonesia. ^[18] Their 16 March 2019 wedding pictures splashed the front pages of Indonesian entertainment tabloids. Ryuji became a father on 13 February 2020. ^[19]

Honours

PTT Rayong

• Thai League 2: 2018 ^[20]

Indonesia U-23

• Southeast Asian Games bronze medal: 2017

Indonesia

• AFF Championship runner-up: 2020 ^[21]

References

1. "Ryuji Utomo". pssi.org. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
2. "Ryuji Utomo Prabowo" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 13 June 2016.
3. "Ryuji Utomo Terima Kartu Kuning Di Laga Debutnya Bersama Al Najma". Goal.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 23 September 2015.
4. "Ryuji Utomo Cetak Gol Untuk Al Najma". Goal.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 20 December 2015.
5. "Ryuji Utomo Dipastikan Sebagai Pemain Baru Arema". sportsatu.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 17 September 2016.
6. "Banyak Rekan Cedera Tak Bikin Ryuji Utomo Takut Benturan". bola.com. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
7. "Tinggalkan Arema, Ryuji Utomo Gabung Persija". www.bola.com. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
8. "PS TNI vs Persija Jakarta: Stefano Cugurra Teco Puji Penampilan Ryuji Utomo". www.tribunnews.com. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
9. "Resmi Diperkenalkan Penang FA, Ryuji Utomo Dapat Label Sang Pahlawan dari Seberang". bola.com. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
10. "Ryuji Utomo Resmi Gabung Klub Thailand PTT Rayong". www.cnnindonesia.com. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
11. "Ryuji Utomo Raih Gelar Juara Thai 2, Yanto Basna Gagal Bawa Khonkaen ke Thai 1". bola.com. 29 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
12. "Bek Persija Ryuji Utomo Resmi ke Klub Malaysia Penang FC" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 1 December 2020.
13. "Debut di Liga Malaysia, Ryuji Utomo Bawa Penang Raih Kemenangan". Bolalob. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
14. "Ryuji Utomo Gabung Bali United Usai Dilepas Persija". sport.detik.com. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
15. "Bali United vs. PSM Makassar - 20 January 2023 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
16. "Susunan Pemain Timnas Indonesia U-23 vs Myanmar". pikiran-rakyat.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 18 July 2016.
17. "Sang Ayah Meninggal Dunia, Ryuji Utomo Sampaikan Kata-kata Menyentuh Kalbu". indosport.com. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
18. "Sudah Sah! Intip 5 Momen Pernikahan Ryuji Utomo dan Shabrina Ayu". matamata.com. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
19. "Potret Bahagia Ryuji Utomo Saat Gendong Anaknya yang Baru Lahir". kumparan.com. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
20. "Ryuji Ikut Antar PTT Rayong Promosi ke Kasta Tertinggi Liga Thailand". bola.kompas.com. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
21. "Piala AFF 2020 Indonesia vs Thailand: Statistik Pertandingan Tunjukkan Kelemahan Garuda | liputan6.com". liputan6.com. Retrieved 30 December 2021.

External links

• Ryuji Utomo at Soccerway
• Ryuji Utomo at National-Football-Teams.com