Despite Tiger Cup failure, Kolev likely to keep post
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Ivan Kolev, who failed to bring the Indonesian soccer team to victory in the Tiger Cup, has gained a moral boost from a top official of the country's soccer governing body, the PSSI.
Indonesia lost to ten-man Thailand 6-4 in the final match at the Bung Karno stadium here on Sunday, which could have put an end to Kolev's partnership with the PSSI, as he himself had once signaled.
However, he should now safely see out his one-year contract until June as Tri Goestoro, the PSSI secretary-general, said the final outcome of the team's run in Tiger Cup would not necessarily count in the PSSI's evaluation of Kolev.
"We resolved long in advance that we would not use the Tiger Cup outcome as a criteria in the evaluation of whether Kolev has succeeded or failed in his job," he said.
At a press conference during the Tiger Cup, Bulgarian-born Kolev said that he would quit if the team failed to win the tournament, and if the PSSI did not have faith in him anymore.
"The PSSI and the Indonesian soccer community are disappointed with the result, but the disappointment should not, in this case, blindly lead to the firing of Kolev. The PSSI will evaluate the process that led to team's failure.
"We expect an account from Kolev and the team manager (Ismet Tahir) about the team's performance before we decide if we should retain Kolev," he said.
He did not mention a timetable, but he said that the report should be made as soon as possible.
"We want to learn from Kolev about what obstacles, if any, he has come up against and what arguments he has to account for the team's failure. We should be provided with an explanation. Only then will we decide on the team's future.
"A deviation in one's job may be unavoidable. In the case of Kolev, we will see if that deviation is tolerable or not," he said.
After playing out a 2-2 draw, Indonesia lost to Thailand 4-2 in the penalty shootout with Bambang Nurdiansyah, a former national star, attributing Indonesia's flop to psychological problems.
"Thailand was already emotionally at ease and ready to console themselves that if they were to lose, then they would lose because they only had ten players.
"On the other hand, it was nerve-wracking for the Indonesian players with the big crowd demanding that they should win. That resulted in their uneasiness during the shootout," Bambang said.
It was the second consecutive defeat for Indonesia by Thailand in the final after the 2000 edition of the Cup in Bangkok.
The Tiger Cup failure also means that Indonesia has yet to chalk up an international soccer achievement since it last did so at the 1991 SEA Games in Manila.