Coach says Kurniawan included in RI team

Coach says Kurniawan included in RI team

JAKARTA (JP): The late inclusion of young striker Kurniawan
Dwi Yulianto on the national soccer team for the 18th Southeast
Asian Games poses no problem, head coach Romano Matte said
yesterday.

The 18th SEA Games will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from
Dec. 9 to Dec. 17. Unlike the other members of the team who have
trained together for the Games since Aug. 20, Kurniawan, now
playing for Sweden's First Division club, FC Lucerne, will join
the team on Nov. 20.

"In just a week's time, I believe Kurniawan will be able to
integrate with the team. Many of the team members are his
teammates with whom he is familiar," Romano said yesterday.

The SEA Games-bound team consists of 20 players. Six of them,
including Kurniawan, were trained under the Primavera project in
Italy for two years. The rest are the best of the Indonesian
League.

Romano said that in the first instance he opted for the 4-4-2
zone marking system, which he applied to the Primavera project.
Later, however, he had to change it to 3-5-2, with which most of
the team's members are more familiar.

Saying that three months are not enough for put together the
best formula for the team, Romano did not set any target for his
boys.

"We just try to win. I have always told my boys of the
importance of physical condition and mental preparation."

Romano's team will go for a tryout on Nov. 8 in Beijing,
China, where they will take on the Chinese Olympic team. China
cruised to the second round of Asia-Oceania Zone qualifying round
for the 1996 Olympic Games.

After Beijing, the Indonesians will play their final warm-up
match prior to the Games at home on Nov. 18. The sparring team
has yet to be decided. Two Swedish teams and a New Zealand team
had been contacted for possible sparring teams, but they were
unable to meet the team's schedules. "A Fijian team seems to be
the only option because of its availability to meet our schedule,
but we still have to decide on it," added coach Andi Teguh.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Track and Field Association (PASI)
decided that its SEA Games-bound team will consist of 44 instead
of 50 athletes as it previously announced.

Sarengat, one of the National Sports Council's deputy
chairmen, declined to identify the six who were knocked off the
list. But he said that the six were not included because, even
though they are good athletes, they have not trained regularly.

As for Indonesia's fastest man, Mardi Lestari, Sarengat said
PASI expects to get a silver, not gold, medal from him. He's
recently married and may be burdened financially, Mardi said.
PASI also doubts the sprinter can run all-out, added Sarengat,
who made the statement after meeting with PASI's head coach
Pieter Noya.

PASI is eying 11 gold medals and 15 silver medals at the
Games. (arf)