Persib Bandung surprised Indonesian football lovers and even the world by recruiting ex-Chelsea and AC Milan midfielder Michael Essien. At that time, in League 1 2017 there was a marquee player regulation, where clubs were allowed to recruit one star player who had played at the level of Europe's top clubs. Three years running, Essien back into the conversation Bobotoh, supporters of Persib, in cyberspace, precisely the Twitter platform. The reason is, Persib is listed in the best club competition with the most support on Twitter.

The competition was created by San Bass Media, an account of social media researchers. How to play, the club with the most votes, retweets and replies will advance to the next round. The participants consisted of 64 clubs in the world. Representatives of Indonesia are Persib Bandung and Persija Jakarta. The last club called fall in the last 64. Tiger Kemayoran lost to Brazilian representative, Flamengo. While Persib broke into the last 32 after defeating the Mexican team, Chivas. In the last 32 round, Persib met with representatives of Brazil, Vasco da Gama. At the same time, photos of Essien appear to compare the greatness of Persib with the opposing club, Vasco da Gama (Brazil).

Launching the West Java Tribune, Michael Essien tries to be a gardener by cutting the grass on the sidelines of the practice at the Sidolig Stadium, Bandung, May 19, 2017. Michael Essien is often the center of attention of players and bobotoh while on the field. Among his friends, Essien is indeed known to like to make fun. Even some time ago he had worn a complete koko koko shirt which made speculation that many people thought Essien became a convert. Steven Gilbert's tweet then invited other Essien photos when defending Persib in 2017. "There is no doubt about him (Michael Essien)," chirped @IwaFaisal account plus a photo of Essien shopping at the market with woven basket bags.