Arema F.C.

Arema Football Club is an Indonesian professional football club based in Malang, East Java province. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top flight of Football in Indonesia. Arema's nickname is "Singo Edan" (The Mad Lions).
History.
The fabled origin of Arema's name.
The name Arema refers to a legendary figure in Malang folklore called Kebo Arema who was a knight in King Kertanegara of Singhasari's court when the latter ruled the kingdom in the 13th century. The kingdom's name relates to the contemporary Singosari district of Malang Regency, located a few miles north of Malang city. According to the folklore song of Panji Wijayakrama, Kebo Arema quashed a revolt by Kelana Bhayangkara until all the rebels were crushed like leaves eaten by caterpillars. In the ancient book of Negarakertagama, Kebo Arema also was cited as the one who ended the Cayaraja rebellion. Kebo Arema also led expansionary campaigns for Kertanegara. Together with Mahisa Anengah, Kebo Arema conquered the Pamalayu Kingdom on Sumatra island centered in what is now known as Jambi province in order to have access to the Malacca Strait. The heroism of Kebo Arema is little known because history books focus on the achievements of Kertanegara as the most prominent Singhasari king.
In the '80s.
The name Arema reappeared in Malang around the 1980s. While it is unclear that the revival had anything to do with Kebo Arema, the name became popular among the youth in Malang who had developed a sub-culture. Arema is an acronym of Arek Malang, which means Malang youth. The Arema sub-culture has distinct identitities, symbols and even language that differentiates it from the main culture in East Java province. It is often seen as a cultural challenge to the youth culture in the provincial capital of Surabaya. The Arek Malang proponents built their reputation and existence through rock music and local sports. Aside from boxing, soccer is the sport that strongly identifies with Arek Malang, especially the lower-income masses who find it as a platform for their expression. 
Arema was established during the peak of the development of this sub-culture on 11 August 1987 and with a goal of developing a professional football club in Malang. At that time, the existing Malang team, Persema Malang, depended on government budget and was a federation of smaller clubs in Malang. A professional Malang club was a brainchild of army general Acub Zaenal, who was active in the PSSI, the football association of Indonesia, and administered the country's first professional football competition Galatama, and Dirk Sutrisno, the founder of the Armada'86 football club in Malang who wanted to upgrade his team. The original name was Aremada, a combination of Armada and Arema, before becoming Arema'86. However, financial difficulties delayed the official incorporation, as the Arema Indonesia football club, until the general rescued the cause and paved the way for Arema's participation in Galatama. 
Because of its establishment was during the horoscope period of Leo, Arema chose the symbol of the lion, or singo (in Javanese language), which also constitutes the front part of the Singhasari or Singosari kingdom's name.
Galatama Era.
At the beginning of Arema's Galatama participation, the guerrilla-style search for professional-quality players took place one month before Arema was officially established. Arema tried to convince players of existing clubs to join, including Maryanto from Persema, Kusnadi Kamaludin from Armada, Mahdi Haris from Arseto, Jamrawi and Yohanes Geohera from Mitra Surabaya and goalkeeper Dony Latuperisa who was then undergoing PSSI suspension. A former Indonesian national team coach, Sinyo Aliandoe, also agreed to join. For their first accommodation, Arema players used military barracks provided by the Indonesian air force, which runs Malang's Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport. The airbase's grass field was also used as a training ground. 
Arema faced numerous financial issues until Acub Zaenal became its stable financier and protector. Arema's Galatama achievements were initially erratic, although it never inhabited the bottom of the table. In almost every Galatama season, Arema never could stay long at the top. Nevertheless, Arema won the 1992 Galatama competition. At that time, the players included Indonesia national football team regulars Aji Santoso, Mecky Tata, Singgih Pitono and Jamrawi. Ever since, Arema has been considered part of the elite group of clubs in Indonesia with fanatical supporters, especially those who embody the youth sub-culture in Malang.
Ligina Era.
During the Liga Indonesia (Ligina) years from 1994 to 2007, Arema entered the advanced round seven times, including six times in the top 8 (1999/2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007). Despite its stable achievements, Arema was never free from financial problems. Almost every season, this problem haunted the club, leading to frequent organizational changes. In 2003, Arema experienced severe financial difficulties, which affected the team's performance. This led to the management of Arema being handed over to giant cigarette company Bentoel Group, which runs a factory near Malang, in the middle of the 2003 season. However, Arema still could not escape relegation to the Ligina's second-tier. That said, Bentoel financing helped Arema to bounce back and win promotion in 2004. After its return to the top league, Arema won Copa Indonesia, the knockout tournament for clubs, in 2005 and 2006 and Arema's U-18 team won the Soeratin Cup, the country's main youth tournament, in 2007. In 2006 and 2007, Arema and its coach Benny Dollo received awards from Tabloid Bola, Indonesia's leading sports publication, as the best team and best coach, respectively.
Indonesia Super League Era.
After another conflict in Indonesia's football league administration, the first Indonesia Super League competition, the 2008–09 edition, came about with Arema disappointingly finishing at 10th. Two months after the competition was over, on 3 August 2009 at Hotel Santika Malang, Bentoel Group sold Arema to a group of people, including fans, concerned about the club's performance and future. The release was also a by-product of the sale of majority shares owned by Bentoel Group in the Bentoel cigarette operations to multinational British American Tobacco (BAT) that had no intent to finance a local football club in Indonesia. Before that, there was a discourse of merging Arema with Persema Malang, but supporters objected this plan. In the 2009-10 season of ISL, Arema, which was coached by Dutchman Robert Alberts, won the title. Arema has a knack of coming back strong after taking a hit, which endears it to its loyal band of supporters who accompany the team wherever they go.
Dualism Era (2011-2014).
Indonesian football experienced its worst spell of management after Arema's 2010 victory with a schism within the country's football management. PSSI in 2011 endorsed a newly founded company Liga Primer Indonesia (LPI) to rebrand LSI and launch Liga Prima Indonesia (IPL) as its direct replacement. However, LSI administrators rebelled against this move and continued the LSI series. Arema was also divided into two separate entity, Arema Indonesia in IPL and Arema FC in LSI.
Arema Indonesia founders claimed they had been given permission from Lucky Acub Zaenal, the son of Acub Zaenal, the co-founder of Arema Indonesia football club. Meanwhile, Aremania fans rejected this, leading to the formation of Arema Cronus, which eventually became Arema FC. 
Post Dualism Era.
The dualism ended in 2014 with the PSSI taking over the rebellious group that held onto the LSI series. FIFA also intervened and punished Indonesia for its poor management, leading to a competition vacuum in 2015. During the break, the Arema factions merged and agreed to use the name Arema Cronus for the resumption of LSI in 2016. For the 2017 season, the club changed its name again from Arema Cronus to Arema Football Club amid Aremania fan protest.
Crest and colours.
The famous nickname for Arema FC is Singo Edan (The Mad Lions), in line with the lion symbol and spirited nature of its Aremania fans. There have been several color changes throughout Arema's turbulent history but the official colors now are blue and red.
Sponsorship.
The complete sponsors are as follow
Supporters and rivalries.
Supporters.
Arema supporters are known as Aremania and Aremanita. After the Liga Indonesia began in 1997, Aremania emerged as a support group with an aggressive reputation nationwide.
Rivalries.
Aremania have a very strong rivalry with supporters of Persebaya Surabaya, who are known as "Bonek" and the games between the two sides, known as the Super East Java Derby, often escalate into violence.
Players.
Retired numbers.
 (posthumous honour)
Club officials.
Head Coach history.
"Head Coach by years (1987–present)"