Sriwijaya

Foundation and early years

The club was founded on 23 October 2004 as Sriwijaya Football Club after the Government of South Sumatra, led by Syahrial Oesman, bought the debt-ridden Persijatim Solo FC, as the government wanted to manage a Palembang-based football team to compete in the top tier of Indonesian football. The province did not have any football clubs competing in the top tier of Indonesian football after the dissolution of Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian in 1992. The government also did not want the Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, which was built with billions of rupiah to go wasted after the 2004 National Games. Historically, the club was founded in 1976 as Persijatim Jakarta Timur, which is based in East Jakarta, before changed its name to Persijatim Solo Football Club after the club was sold and moved their home base to Solo, Central Java in 2002. After the acquisition by the South Sumatra government in 2004, Sriwijaya moved its home base to Palembang, South Sumatra. The name "Sriwijaya" come from the ancient Srivijaya empire, that used to rule the land in the old days. Since then, the club is owned by PT Sriwijaya Optimis Mandiri.

Sriwijaya's first competitive season after the new ownership was 2005 Liga Indonesia Premier Division. The club's squad at that time was filled with some players from Persijatim Solo FC, such as Ferry Rotinsulu, Tony Sucipto, and Wijay. Also with the addition of native players from South Sumatra, such as Jarot and Septariyanto.

At the beginning of the season, the club was coached by an Englishman Erick Williams, before he was sacked in the middle of the season due to several poor performances that caused the club to fall into the relegation zone. Jeri Wardin, who was previously Williams' assistant, was appointed as the club's head coach before his position was finally replaced by Suimin Diharja. Under Diharja, Sriwijaya's performance gradually improved, and at the end of the season managed to maintain the club in the flagship competition after finishing in ninth place of West Division.

Double winner and Copa Indonesia dominance

In the 2007–2008 season, Sriwijaya became the first and only Indonesian club to achieve the double, by winning both the top division (Liga Indonesia Premier Division) and the primary domestic cup (Copa Indonesia) in the same season. At the start of the season, the club brought in Rahmad Darmawan as head coach, and local players on the squad included Christian Warobay, Charis Yulianto, and Isnan Ali. Foreign players included Anoure Obiora, Zah Rahan, Christian Lenglolo, and Keith "Kayamba" Gumbs. In the first stage, the club managed to top the final standings of the West Division with 66 points from 20 wins from 34 matches, better than Persipura Jayapura in the East Division with only 64 points.

In the next stage, Sriwijaya was included in Group A of the last 8, competing with Persiwa Wamena, PSMS Medan, and Arema Malang. From 3 matches, the club topped the final standings of the group by collecting five points from three matches. This success also led Laskar Wong Kito to the knockout phase. In the semifinals, the club won narrowly 1–0 over Persija Jakarta where the only goal was scored by Kayamba. On 10 February 2008, the club competed in the final against another Sumatran team, PSMS Medan. The full-time result ended in a 1–1 draw which made the match continue to extra time. In the extra time, the club managed to score two goals by Kayamba and Zah Rahan which made the score 3–1 until the end of the match, which made Sriwijaya emerge as the champion of the 2007–08 Liga Indonesia Premier Division. This trophy also became Sriwijaya's first championship since the club was founded.

In the same season, Sriwijaya also won the domestic cup trophy, 2007–08 Copa Indonesia, which made them the first and only double champions in Indonesia to date. In the tournament, the club for the first time reached the final round, while securing this title after defeating Persipura in the final. In the final held at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Sriwijaya emerged as champions after winning the penalty shootout.

In the 2008–09 season, after winning the domestic league and cup in the previous season, Sriwijaya competed on the continental stage for the first time. The club were placed in Group F of the 2009 AFC Champions League along with Gamba Osaka, FC Seoul and Shandong Luneng, but were only able to collect one win from 6 matches. This result made the club bottom of Group F. In domestic competition, Sriwijaya finished in fifth place of the 2008–09 Indonesia Super League with 54 points from 15 matches, and scored 60 goals. In domestic cup, they managed to win the Copa Indonesia for the second time in a row, and gave them a ticket to the AFC Champions League play-offs for the following season.

In the following season, Sriwijaya emerged as the champion of the 2010 Copa Indonesia, while also setting a record as the only domestic cup champion in three consecutive seasons. The result was achieved after the team won 2–1 over Arema Indonesia in the final, held at the Manahan Stadium on 1 August 2010. In the league, Sriwijaya was only able to finish in eighth place with 48 points in the 2009–10 Indonesia Super League, the club's worst result in the last 4 seasons. On the continental stage, the club started by competing against the Singapore Armed Forces in the 2010 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, but lost 3–0 to the Singapore team, and had to fall to the second level of Asian competition, AFC Cup. The club won the Group F of 2010 AFC Cup by beating Bình Dương, Selangor and Victory SC in the final standings. In the round of 16, Sriwijaya had to fall after losing 1–4 to Thai Port, despite having taken the lead through a goal from Anoure Obiora.