RI ready to beat Vietnam in Tiger Cup<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (Agencies): Acting national team coach Dananjaya was
\nsteadfast on Wednesday that Indonesia could beat Vietnam's strong
\nteam for a final berth.<\/p>\n
\"All the players have the same vision to win. They are
\nmentally prepared for the semifinals and will do anything to
\nwin,\" he said, adding that the dismissal of coach Nandar Iskandar
\ndid not affect the team's preparations.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has a chance to take revenge on Vietnam in
\nThursday's semifinal match in Bangkok. Vietnam routed Indonesia
\n1-0 into the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games semifinals and at
\nthe same time buried Indonesia's dream of taking the soccer gold
\nmedal for the first time in eight years.<\/p>\n
Dananjaya assured that last year's defeat by Vietnam would not
\naffect his team's performance.<\/p>\n
\"The players can observe which teams had made progress in the
\npast few months. Moreover, the team's match experiences in the
\nAsian Cup final in Lebanon are enough to boost their motivation
\nto cruise to the finals.\"<\/p>\n
Dananjaya will still rely on the duet strikers of Kurniawan
\nDwi Yulianto and Gendut Doni Christiawan.<\/p>\n
\"I may consider to field Miro Baldo Bento in the second half.
\nIn the last performance, Bento was quite successful in making our
\nopponent's defenders busy.\"<\/p>\n
Dananjaya said he would be careful in picking the midfielders,
\nadding that he would try to block the Vietnamese in the center
\nfield and deter them from breaking into the defense zone.<\/p>\n
\"There will be additional attackers to play in the midfield,
\nincluding Imran Nahumarury, Uston Nawawi and Putu Gede Santoso.
\nWe want to play offensive soccer,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In the defense zone, Dananjaya will field regular players Aji
\nSantoso and Ismet Sofyan as stoppers. Eko Purjianto or Jet Donald
\nLaala are the options to accompany Aji and Ismet. Should Hendro
\nKartiko recover from his injury, he will be the first choice as
\ngoalkeeper.<\/p>\n
Team manager Muhammad Zein said he would take responsibility
\nover the team's performances, including Nandar's dismissal.<\/p>\n
\"Our main target is the final. I saw that we could play better
\nagainst Myanmar, when Nandar was no longer there. We want to
\nbetter our achievement in the 1998 Cup. If the team fails, I'm
\nwilling to withdraw as team manager and national team director at
\nthe Soccer Association of Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia crashed out in the preliminaries in Hanoi two years
\nago.<\/p>\n
Optimistic<\/p>\n
In Bangkok, Thailand manager Virath Chanpanich is confident
\nhis team can overcome Malaysia to book a Tiger Cup final spot.<\/p>\n
With the exception of striker Worrawut Srimaka, who earned a
\nred card and a one-match ban in Thailand's victory over the
\nPhilippines on Sunday, the Thais will have their full lineup
\navailable for the semifinal here, Virath said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"We will not have Worrawut because of the red card, but other
\nthan that we have a full team and we are ready to fight against
\nMalaysia.\"<\/p>\n
\"We have prepared well as a team and as a host nation we
\nshould get through to the final. We hope we will be the champs.\"<\/p>\n
Virath said he was keen to see the outcome of the other
\nsemifinal, where Indonesia meets Vietnam.<\/p>\n
\"If we face Indonesia in the final it will be easy because
\nthey lost to us 1-4 in the first round, but if we face Vietnam it
\nwill be an interesting match because their team is very strong
\nand well-trained,\" he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Vietnam thrashed Laos 5-0 to reach the semis, while Malaysia
\nupset defending champion Singapore 1-0 to book its berth.<\/p>\n
Vietnam coach Alfred Reidl said on Monday that the side had
\nachieved its objective of finishing as champion of the Group B
\nround, played in the southern Thai city of Songkhla.<\/p>\n
\"We wanted to avoid meeting Thailand in the semifinals and we
\nhave done that. Against Laos we did not play so well but we did
\nscore sufficient goals to top the group,\" he said. (ivy)<\/p>",
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