Nandar's post as Indonesia's head coach still unclear<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): With only one month left to go to the 2000 Asian
\nCup in Lebanon, the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI)
\nremained tight-lipped on the fate of national coach Nandar
\nIskandar.<\/p>\n
PSSI secretary general, Tri Goestoro, said on Monday he was
\nstill unsure as to whether the association would take the
\nopportunity of replacing Nandar with Dutchman Henk Wullems.<\/p>\n
He also brushed aside media reports saying that Nandar would
\nask to resign from his post as head coach should PSSI insist on
\nincluding Wullems in the national squad.<\/p>\n
\"There is no question of resignation. Nandar is still the
\nnational team's head coach. We are still unsure if we will
\ndiscuss this matter with other PSSI officials as it is really
\ndifficult to organize an internal plenary meeting right now,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Nandar, who has been preparing the team for the championships
\nwhich run from Oct. 12 through Oct. 29, was not available for
\ncomment as he failed to show up for the first training session on
\nMonday at the Senayan soccer ground. The training session was led
\nby assistant coach Dananjaya.<\/p>\n
Four players from the Makassar-based PSM club -- Bima Sakti,
\nAji Santoso, Hendro Kartiko and Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto -- also
\nskipped the training session due to their club's upcoming fixture
\nagainst Song Lam Nghe An in the first round of the Asian Club
\nChampionships in Hanoi.<\/p>\n
Tri confirmed that he had met Nandar personally at the
\nKebayoran Inn hotel in South Jakarta where the national team are
\nstaying during the training program for the Asian Cup.<\/p>\n
\"I asked him about the players' condition as they have just
\nreturned from a one-week break after competing in the
\nIndependence Cup. I also asked him about the number of players
\nwho are joining the team and about who is still playing overseas.
\nIt's a normal part of my job to ask these questions when they are
\nabout to begin the centralized training program,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the news on Nandar's replacement emerged after
\nIndonesia managed to win the Independence Cup two weeks ago,
\nbeating Iraq 3-0 in the final.<\/p>\n
The national team director Muhammad Zein said after attending
\nthe final on Sept. 3 that Wullems was expected to join the
\nnational team as a technical advisor and would start on Monday.<\/p>\n
Zein indicated that it was Nurdin Halid, the PSSI official in
\ncharge of athletes development, who recommended Wullems to
\nchairman Agum Gumelar.<\/p>\n
Wullems' latest success was to lead PSM, owned by Halid, to
\nwin the Bank Mandiri national soccer league in July. The Dutchman
\nalso helped the national team win the 1997 Southeast Asian (SEA)
\nGames silver here.<\/p>\n
Assistant coach Rudy Keltjes said he was against the idea of
\nreplacing Nandar.<\/p>\n
\"I have no problem if Wullems only acts as a technical advisor
\nbut he shouldn't take over training from Nandar. There's only one
\nmonth left for our preparations, so it's no use changing our
\ntraining program,\" he said after the training session.<\/p>\n
Rudy also called on PSSI to appreciate a local coach instead
\nof hiring an expatriate. \"Who said that Nandar is not a
\nsuccessful coach? We have to show gratitude to our own people.\"
\n(ivy)<\/p>",
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