Reinaldo Lobo, Penang FA’s Iron Wall

After being left by national team centre back Hamka Hamzah who joined Malaysia side, PKNS FC, Mitra Kutai Kertanegara (Mitra Kukar) decided to hunt a quality defender to fill the post before Indonesia Super League (ISL) 2014 started. At first, Reinaldo Rodrigues de Oliveira Lobo was not Mitra Kukar first choice despite the player had joined for trial.

Finally, Mitra Kukar management decided to sign the 27-year-old Brazilian despite his lack of experience to play for any clubs outside Brazil. Nevertheless, Reinaldo Lobo proved his quality and paid Mitra Kukar trust to sign him with promising performances.

His over-average abilities on the field cost him one regular spot on Mitra Kukar’s defensive line. He became a fan-favorite with his achievement on leading the  Naga Mekes to finish 3rd on the East Zone and progressed to the Last-8 round of ISL 2014

During his time with Mitra, Lobo appeared in 26 matches playing 2,340 minutes in total on his debut in ISL 2014. It means, he always played since the competition was started up until Mitra packed their bag following the end of the Last-8 round. He never got substituted or being sent off throughout the season.

Reinaldo Lobo possesses Brazilian centre-back type abilities. Strong feet, clean tackles, good visions to read and anticipate opponents’ attacks are some of his attributes that can always be seen in him. His statistics during ISL 2014 prove his quality. He made 1.1 successful tackles per game in average, as well as 3.38 intercepts and 0.95 blocks. His incredible performances on the defensive line let Mitra Kukar only lost 8 games in total.

Stefan Hansson, Mitra Kukar’s head coach, admitted that it was not only Lobo’s abilities to defend that made him a perfect replacement for Hamka Hamzah. Lobo is a cool-headed, an exemplary personality that costs him only 1 yellow card during season while he averagely makes 1.2 fouls per game.

Just like any other Brazilian defenders across the world, Lobo also wants to involve in attacking. His 186 cm height makes him a perfect target when it comes to set piece situations. He scored 2 goals and succeeded on making 6.67 headers per game. When it comes to open play, he averagely made 32.5 successful passes with accuracy 79.7% per game. It means he is also a very good player to start attacks.

In 2015, Lobo decided to end his involvement with Mitra Kukar and join Malaysia side Penang FA for Malaysia Premier League 2015. With the Brazilian cold-iron wall joined the team, now Penang FA can aim to promote to the Super League next season.

by Yovinus Krisantus

@chrisyovie