On the sidelines of Persita Tangerang's training ground, Ilham Jaya Kesuma now carries out a different role. He no longer stands as a striker waiting for passes to score goals.
Today, he observes the movements of young players, gives instructions, corrects mistakes, and passes down his long experience as a footballer to the next generation.
For the 2025/2026 EPA season, Ilham is registered as Head Coach of Persita U20. He leads Persita's youth squad competing in EPA, an inter-club development competition that also forms part of the player progression pipeline towards senior level football.
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The Indonesian University League was presented at the United Nations 2026 World Football Day.
For Ilham, this job is not just about preparing the team for matches.
He is helping young players understand what it takes to be a professional footballer—starting with discipline, the courage to make decisions, reading the game, handling pressure, right through to building a competitive mindset.
This experience makes his work feel deeply personal. Because the journey these young players are currently walking bears close resemblance to his own life story.
Born in Palembang on 19 September 1978, Ilham was first introduced to football through his local neighbourhood.
He played in local matches, worked his way up through higher levels, before eventually earning the chance to represent PS Palembang at youth level. Career records note PS Palembang as Ilham's first youth club during the 1995-1996 period.
1996 marked a major turning point. That year Ilham joined Persita Tangerang. This is where his career took off rapidly. He established himself as one of the sharpest domestic strikers of the Liga Indonesia era, and became a core figure in Persita's campaigns across national competitions.
Ilham won the Liga Indonesia top scorer title twice. In the 2001/2002 season he netted 26 goals and also claimed the league's best player award. Two years later he repeated the top scorer feat with 22 goals. Persita also advanced all the way to the Liga Indonesia final in 2002.
This goalscoring prowess earned him a call up to the Indonesia National Team. At the 2004 Tiger Cup, Ilham scored seven goals to finish as the tournament's top scorer. Indonesia ultimately finished runners-up after losing to Singapore in the final. Across his entire international career, Ilham recorded 18 caps and 13 goals for Indonesia.
His football journey then took him overseas. Between 2006 and 2007, Ilham played for MPPJ Selangor in Malaysia. This experience exposed him to a different competitive environment, and broadened his perspective on the professional demands placed on athletes.
Following this spell abroad he returned to Persita, and also went on to play for Persisam Putra Samarinda, Mitra Kukar and Sriwijaya before hanging up his boots in 2014.
Today, every single one of these experiences is the foundation Ilham brings when he stands before his young players.
He has lived every step: growing up with the game in a simple neighbourhood, earning his first opportunity, fighting for a place in the team, becoming Persita's leading striker, representing his country, and competing abroad.
All of this lived experience is what he now tries to pass on to players who are currently chasing their own dreams.
Once, Persita was the place that nurtured Ilham. Now, he stands on the other side of the pitch, helping nurture the club's next generation.
This is what gives Ilham's journey meaning far beyond just the story of a former striker. His career has entered a new chapter: no longer chasing goals himself, instead helping mould players that one day will hopefully break into Persita's senior squad.
This story was produced as part of the VAR (Versi Atlet Raisha) programme, which sat down with former Indonesian footballer Ilham Jaya Kesuma to document his life story, current work, career path, and the lessons that can be taken from his decades long involvement in football.
Through an in-depth interview with Raisha, Ilham shared his journey starting from neighbourhood football pitches to becoming a feared striker, his experiences with the Indonesia National Team and playing in Malaysia, right through to his current life as a youth development coach.
From the dusty village pitches of Palembang to the regional stages of Southeast Asian football, Ilham's journey proves that a footballer's career does not end when they take off their boots for the last time.
They simply change roles: from goal scorer to player developer, from the talent that Persita once raised, to the person now helping plant the seeds for Persita's future.
